Of Princes and Pointé Shoes
by Avyuir
Summary: My own twist on the infamous three years. Bulma is called back into her past and must face past demons while Vegeta fights with his own emotions for the aqua vixen. Full summary inside. *UPDATE* CHAPTER 12 UP! Bumped rating down to T again.
1. The Prince and the Heiress

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. If I did, you would have seen more Vegeta/Bulma romance and Vegeta would have kicked Goku's ass :D (Don't hurt me, I do love Goku but I hate how they make Vegeta seem so weak after he nearly kills Goku when they meet T_T) This is the only disclaimer I will be doing:

I DO NOT OWN: Dragonball Z, The Swan Lake, The Nutcracker. This story is merely a figment of my imagination. If needed, other disclaimers may be made later on in the life of this fan fiction.

Summary: Bulma and Vegeta during the mysterious three years time line. This one takes place after Mirai Trunks appears and Goku returns. With that being said, the two have already spent some time together so if it seems that I am moving somewhat quickly throughout the plot line, this is why. It also puts into perspective what Bulma may have been doing in the four years that the Z gang didn't see each other after the end of Dragon Ball (the four years before Raditz came.) Anyway, on with the summary,

Bulma is called by an old friend who insists she returns to help him and her once famous dance and trapeze troupe once again to perform the Nutcracker. But an accident that happened to her almost five years ago while performing this same play puts Bulma in a hard position. She must face her demons that nearly got her killed while dealing with an arrogant saiyan prince who insists on making her life hell at every turn.

While Vegeta continues to train, his mind wanders on and off again to the aqua haired woman that entices him so. Unsure of his feelings for her, he does the one thing he vowed never to do; he begins to care for someone other than himself. Everything he told himself, everything he worked on, all the perfect discipline, comes crashing down around him.

A/N: _Italics _represent either a person thinking or sarcastic emphasis  
"-" represent speech obviously  
**Bolding** represents serious emphasis  
ALL CAPS represent yelling

Okay, on with the story!

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**Chapter One: The Prince and the Heiress**

Bulma awoke early that morning. She glanced at the clock, its bright red numbers glaring and angry 5:47 a.m. _Damn it, of all the days I wanted to sleep in._ Bulma groaned into her soft pillow and tried to go back to sleep but sleep would not come. She sighed and then wearily got out of bed. It was Sunday. And frankly she didn't feel like doing shit. She grabbed a pair of black shorts and an old grey hoodie and then headed downstairs. It had been a couple of months since Goku had returned from space and that strange boy from the future had appeared. Bulma sighed looking out the window, the weather was slowly turning from Summer to Autumn and she at least knew that today was going to be a nice day. "Maybe it's not that bad that I woke up at the crack ass of dawn . . . it gives me more time to enjoy the day I suppose." She mumbled half-heartedly under her breath. But her mood only turned worse when she rounded the corner, smacking her face into the hard chest of her 'favourite' Saiyan.

"Watch where you're going woman!" Vegeta glared at her angrily.

_Great, just what I needed this morning._ Bulma didn't say anything but sidestepped past Vegeta, she really did not want him getting under her skin so damn early in the morning. But she could feel his cold, onyx eyes watching her every movement. She busied herself by making a pot of coffee and making some toast while occasionally rubbing her nose. After all, walking face first into what felt like a steel wall did tend to make ones nose hurt afterwards.

Vegeta just smirked that oh so familiar cocky ass smirk that he favoured so much. Though he was surprised to see the aqua-haired vixen up _this_ early. He had been living at Capsule Corporation for nearly a year now, after his hunt in space for Kakarrot had been sourly disappointing. Needless to say, he knew the woman's sleeping regime rather well, though there were some days, such as this, where it was not consistent. At first, it had bothered him that his attention was instantly alerted to the woman's ki whenever she did something out of the ordinary, but now he had learned to ignore it and he just didn't care anymore. _I'm becoming soft living with these stupid weak creatures. As soon as Kakarrot tells me how to achieve the legendary status I will destroy him along with this pitifully weak sorry excuse for a planet. And I, the Prince of All Saiyans, will rule the universe!_

"Hello! Planet Earth to Planet Vegeta! Anyone home? . . . VEGETA!"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at Bulma. "Woman, how dare you raise your voice to me! I'm the Prince-"

"Yeah yeah, the Prince of All Saiyans, because I haven't heard that a thousand times. You zoned out all mighty prince."

Vegeta glared at her angrily, "What do you want woman?"

"I asked if you wanted coffee and some breakfast." Bulma practically shoved the steaming cup of black liquid into his hands.

Vegeta nodded, he had after all originally come down to make himself breakfast, but why get his hands dirty when the woman could do it for him. He sat down at the small table in the kitchen, well small to the Brief's standards as it was large enough to sit six people and watched the woman intently. She was an enigma to him, something he couldn't quite understand. She was the only living creature he had ever known that he could argue with and find a slight hint of amusement in it. And it seemed that the only person on this pathetic planet that wasn't afraid of him was currently standing in front of him making breakfast. Vegeta growled lowly to himself, _what am I thinking! I am disgracing myself by thinking about this puny, insignificant female!_ However, for some reason, Vegeta felt as though he were lying to himself.

Bulma busied herself preparing breakfast. She made them eggs, bacon, and toast with butter and raspberry jelly. Of course after living with Vegeta for over a year, she knew his eating habits were the same as Goku's, so she made him five times that of what she made herself. That was one thing that was a prolonged mystery to Bulma, Saiyans and their eating habits. She figured it was because they trained so hard, like Vegeta did every day. But after travelling with Goku for so long she knew that couldn't have been the case, he had the same eating habits whether he was training or lounging around.

"Woman, hurry up! I have training that is being impeded by your ridiculously slow cooking!"

That was another thing that remained a mystery, saiyan attitudes. "Relax Vegeta; it will be done when it is done." Vegeta had the attitude of a ticked off ferocious tiger while Goku had the attitude of a harmless sleeping kitten.

Bulma piled the food onto the plates and brought it over to the table, placing the ridiculous mountain of food in her arms in front of Vegeta and one small plate in front of herself. She yawned then glanced at the clock, causing her to frown. It was only 6:22. Bulma growled slightly under her breath, she was tired, she wanted to go back to bed, and frankly she wasn't hungry.

"My my, someone's in a bad mood this morning," cackled Vegeta.

Bulma shot him a glare that if looks could kill, he would have been dead on the spot. "No thanks to you." She had been up the past three days straight tinkering with theories and prototypes to help increase Vegeta's training. _Why the hell do I care so much about helping the ungrateful bastard . . .?_ Bulma picked up her fork and tried to eat, but the smell of her food unsettled her stomach and made her want to revolt. She sighed, getting up and placing her food in front of Vegeta who eyed her quizzically but said nothing. She walked out of the kitchen, yawning and headed towards the stairs.

"Ungrateful bastard. . ."

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A/N: Chapter 1 finished for now. Please read and review :)


	2. The Aqua Swan Returns

**Chapter Two: The Aqua Swan Returns**

Vegeta watched the aqua haired woman leave; lying to himself that he was glad she had left. He scoffed to himself and then gobbled down his food, eager to get back to his training. He set the two plates in the sink and headed back to his room to change into his training clothes. However, in order to get to his room, he had to pass the harpy's. Normally, her door was closed, but today it was not and his eyes betrayed him, peering slightly into her room. He noted that the room was a disaster and she wasn't in there.

Bulma cleared her throat, "Ahem Vegeta, is there something else you need?"

Vegeta was mildly surprised the woman managed to sneak up on him, had he not sensed her ki approaching? Though he had noticed the tone of the normal spitfire was not mocking or sarcastic but rather exhausted. Vegeta growled inwardly, why should he care if the weak spoilt woman was a little bit tired. She isn't the one who has been training in 200 times Earth's normal gravity. He spun around and looked her, eyeing the small tool box, blue prints, and strange little contraption she held within her hands.

"Vegeta . . . are you just going to stand there giving me the silent treatment all day or are you going to move so that I can get to MY room?"

"Hn." Vegeta huffed and then stepped aside, but not before he snatched the plans out of the woman's hands. He unrolled the blue print and looked them over quickly, smirking as he did. He knew what he was looking at; it was a blue print for an upgraded model of the simulation bots that reflected ki that he used for his training in the G.R.

Bulma disappeared into her room and set down the other thins she was carrying. She figured if she couldn't sleep then she might as well finish the stupid bots for the all mighty pain in her ass. She grimaced slightly, _why do I want to finish this stuff so badly? I know its just going to return to my lab in shambles in the next few days if I'm that lucky . . . _Bulma sighed to herself and went to retrieve those bloody plans from her eternal tormentor.

Vegeta looked at the plans, slightly interested as to what differences were being made. _Seems the woman is actually doing her job for once._ Vegeta heard the woman clear her throat once more, causing him to look up from the plans to see her small, outstretched hand.

"I'd prefer to have my plans back so I'm not up for another three days rewriting them."

_Another three days? What is that daft woman talking about . . ._ It was only then he noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the random strands of her aqua blue hair sticking out in every which direction possible. Vegeta handed her back the blue prints, "Get some sleep woman, before you pass out." He straightened his back and then headed out the door, closing it behind him.

Bulma looked at the plans in her hand. _That was strange . . . almost sounded like he was . . . _Bulma laughed at her thought. Him, concerned about her? Yeah right. The conceited jerk didn't have any care or concern for his own well being, much less that of others. She dropped the blue prints on her bed and headed out to her balcony that was connected to her room. The sun was now rising, bathing Capsule Corp in its warm, golden light.

"WOMAN!"

Bulma peered down and saw Vegeta glaring at her angrily from the lawn. "What NOW Vegeta!"

"I expect my lunch to be ready for me when I am finished with my morning training! I will not tolerate waiting for you to finish with your slow cooking!"

Bulma twitched with annoyance. She noticed a screw driver resting a foot away from her on the balcony railing. The thought of throwing it at his head was enticing, but she knew he could easily dodge it. So instead, she glared at him angrily and flipped him the bird. _Dodge that asshole._ And with that, she walked into her room, stripped herself down to the bare minimum and flopped on her soft a bed. A smirk was easily present as she felt sleep course through her veins.

Vegeta needless to say, was rather astounded. _Why that insolent woman! I will have her begging me for mercy of which none she shall receive! _Vegeta vented himself with his rigorous training. Today it was harder; he upped the gravity in the machine from 200 to 215 times Earth's normal gravity. But his heart just wasn't in it like usual.

"I will become stronger than that third class clown Kakarrot. I must, no I will defeat him. I will obtain said power of the legendary super saiyan!" But then what? The thought had caught him off guard, making him lose his focus and found himself half near face planting into the unforgiving tile floor of the G.R. He managed to catch himself, barely, and then slowly headed over to the main control panel to turn off the gravity. Vegeta scowled, he had only been training a mere six hours. _These weak humans are beginning to affect me. I have to get the hell out of here . . . but not until Kakarrot tells me how he did it . . ._ An image of the aqua haired vixen appeared in his mind, only leading him to deepen his scowl.

_Why can't I stop thinking about her? She is only a weak human and I, I am the Prince of All Saiyans. I should care less about one as insignificant as her._ But did he really? The woman had a brain that was for sure. She had figured out how to reconstruct his saiyan armour after he returned from his _Goku space hunt _as she often called it. The simulation bots that she constructed were becoming slightly harder to destroy with each new model though they were still nothing compared to him. And she was rather attractive, for a human anyway. _What am I thinking! That woman . . . attractive!_ Vegeta growled at himself, what his people would think if they knew he was thinking about this weak earthling in such ways. He scoffed, it didn't matter, and his people were dead with the exception of the half wit Kakarrot and his half-breed son. Though there was another, the mysterious boy from the future. Vegeta furrowed his brow and left the G. R., a brooding look present on his hard face.

Bulma was glad her mother had gone with her father to the stupid science convention. And she was also glad that she wasn't the full CEO like her father, who was entitled as the sole CEO of Capsule Corporation, to go to those stupid conventions. She wondered why her father even wanted to go . . . all those other _scientists _just wanted to steal their ideas for their own greedy profit.

Bulma opened her groggy eyes and looked at her clock. It read 8:21 Tuesday morning. She rolled back over and closed her eyes, _only two hours-_ Her eyes shot back open once more and she looked at the clock.

"TUESDAY!"

Bulma jumped out of bed with speeds that even some saiyans would be jealous of. She ran down the stairs, not caring that she was only in a small black tank top and her underwear. She looked around the house, it was eerily quite, much too quite for her liking. She skidded into the kitchen and found it much to her to surprise, clean. _What the . . . the G.R. _Bulma ran out of the sliding glass doors and sure enough, the familiar hum of the G.R. greeted her.

She let out a sigh of relief, thanking kami that Vegeta had managed to not kill himself, destroy the G.R., the kitchen, or her house. _Damn, I slept for two days straight . . . oh well, guess I needed it._ The irritated growl of her stomach brought her out of her thoughts. "Fine, I'll get you something to eat stupid stomach . . ."

The sudden sharp spike in Bulma's ki had rather alarmed Vegeta. Even for a human, a spike like that was rare. Needless to say, it was his fault though. He had started to monitor it slightly two days ago when he entered the building for food and found the vixen practically lifeless. Vegeta eyed the pile of broken bots. _At least the wench is alive and can fix these weak bots._

Vegeta turned off the G.R. and went to take the pile of broken machinery to the woman. He walked in the door and the smell of food hit him like a pile of bricks. Since the woman had been out cold and the annoying slave woman had gone with the old man, he had been feeding himself. But he had skipped breakfast that morning to begin his training earlier than usual. His stomach gave an angry yowl, leading him to set down the bots and proceed to the kitchen.

He entered the kitchen, only to have his eyes go directly to the aqua harpy's ass. Did this woman know nothing of decency? He could feel his cheeks burning, what the hell was wrong with him? Vegeta dragged his eyes reluctantly away from the woman and glared out through the window. He cleared his throat and noticed the woman stiffen out of the corner of his eye. (A/N: Yay peripheral vision :D)

Bulma glanced behind herself and breathed a sigh of relief, it was only Vegeta. "Good morning Vegeta! I'm glad to see you didn't destroy anything while I was sleeping."

Bulma heard him scoff, "Quite the contrary woman. Those eight bots you said you _fixed_ last time are broken, yet again."

She frowned and then went to get more ingredients from the fridge. "You hungry?" She took the sound of a scooting chair and a soft plop as a yes. "You know Vegeta, if you would allow me to run a few simulation tests on you I would be able to construct something better. I'm sort of fishing in the dark so to speak. Basing the bots off my knowledge of Goku and what you bring me back half destroyed isn't enough." Bulma grabbed out some eggs, sausage, potatoes, and toast from the fridge and cinnamon from the spice cupboard. She was in a pretty good mood and felt like making her favourite, French toast with hash browns. She smirked to herself, and Vegeta was just lucky enough today to get some.

Vegeta glared at his hands, he didn't need to risk looking up and accidentally have the woman catch him staring. "Hmp, you should know woman, that basing your calculations off Kakarrot who is far weaker than myself, was your first mistake." Vegeta continued to glare at his hands until food presented itself in front of him. He cocked an eyebrow at the plate, "What . . . is . . . this . . .?"

Bulma looked at Vegeta like he had just shouted blasphemy in a church. "My mom has made this for you?" She noticed him shake his head no. "Oh . . . well its called French Toast." Bulma handed him the maple syrup after she put some on hers. "It's a little sweet because of the powdered sugar and syrup but trust me, it's delicious!" And as if on queue, she took a bite to emphasize her point. "This is probably the only thing I can cook that can even compare with my mother's cooking."

Vegeta took a bite slowly and to his surprise, the woman was right. It was good.

Bulma watched Vegeta chew and then swallow the bite he had taken. "Wellllllll?"

"It will suffice."

The corners of Bulma's mouth twitched with annoyance. "Why you arrogant, ungrateful BASTARD!" Bulma was beyond angry, she was fuming. "That's it Vegeta! I'm done taking care of you, Mr. Prince of All Assholes!" Bulma stormed out of the kitchen with her food in hand, grumbling the entire way down the hall and slammed the door to her room once she entered.

Vegeta hadn't expected such a heated response from the woman. It was only food right? That's when it slowly dawned on him, '_this is probably the only thing I can cook that can even compare with my mother's cooking.' _Vegeta frowned; the woman had actually expected a compliment from him. _Pah, why should I have to compliment that annoying woman. I am the Prince of All Saiyans after all, I compliment no one. _Vegeta cleaned his plate after he was finished eating and headed to his room, for some unknown reason he didn't feel like heading back to the G.R.

Bulma sat on the balcony that was attached to her room, eating her breakfast angrily. She mumbled every now and then about ungrateful bastards, how hard she worked, the lack of appreciation. She growled inwardly, "That man! Ugh! I'm going to kill him!" Her eye caught the fork she had in her right hand which caused her to cackle somewhat evilly as she envisioned herself stabbing him in the eye.

"One stupid little word of appreciation Vegeta, that's all I want! A simple thank you or good job or something. Stupid, arrogant MONKEY!"

Bulma's ranting was cut off as she heard the phone ring. She took a slow deep breath to regain her composure and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Bulma darling, how long it has been since I last heard your beautiful voice. Too long for my tastes! How long has it been, 5 years?"

"Ehh? Mike is that you?"

"The one and only! I'm glad I was able to find you number Bulma!"

Bulma was confused, "What's up Mike? You haven't spoken to me in five years and now you just call randomly out of the blue." She heard Mike chuckle on the other end of the phone.

"Well Bulma, I know its been five years and all but the troupe needs your expertise right now."

Bulma furrowed her brow, "Mike . . . you know I gave that part of my life up five years ago, and for good reasons too."

"Please Bulma!" She could hear the strain and desperation in his voice.

Bulma finally relented to his pleadings, she couldn't help it. Mike was practically her only friend outside of the Z Gang and he was like the younger brother she never had. "All right Mike all right. What is it?"

"Well, I know this is going to sound unfair and all but it's the Nutcracker."

"WHAT!"

"Bulma please listen. The troupe hasn't been doing well with Swan Lake the past five years since the incident as they all remember you playing the lead in that play and at the moment Leila just can't compare to what you did. Plus, the crowd has been demanding the Nutcracker for sometime now. You personally choreographed the Nutcracker five years ago and it turned out to be the best performance in ages!"

Bulma sighed, she really did not have the time for this. "Mike, I was younger back then. I have things to do now."

"Please Bulma? Please please please please. I kept all your old choreography! You would be playing Clara of course!"

This led Bulma to ponder his words. "When is the first showing going to begin?"

"Well, we don't have any set dates but probably the second week of December through Christmas Day."

Bulma glanced at the calendar above the phone, it was only the third week in August. _That leaves all of September, October, November, and the first week of December . . ._

"Bulma?"

"All right Mike, I'll do it . . ." Bulma heard Mike scream a 'whoopee' on the other side.

"Miss Bulma Briefs, you have just made my day."

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A/N: For those of you do not know who Clara is, she is the main protagonist in The Nutcracker. Mike however is just some random character I made up.

Read and Review loves 3


	3. The Curious Prince

**Chapter Three: The Curious Prince**

Bulma made her way down one of the lesser used hallways in her massive home. It led to only a few rooms that were used strictly for storage purposes. She extracted a key from her key ring and stuck it into the lock of the door that had 'BULMA' written in large, black bolded letters on it. _I must be losing my mind . . ._ She opened the door with ease and was greeted with the things she had long since forgotten about.

Bulma quickly headed to the back of the room and found just the capsule container she as looking for. It was smaller than the one she normally carried as it only contained two capsules. After she locked the door again, she headed back to her room, ignoring the unfinished bot and blue prints and gathered a various bunch of CDs. _I really have lost my mind._ With the CDs in her arms, Bulma made her way to her personal laptop and found what she was looking for, The Nutcracker: Choreography and The Nutcracker: Script. She printed both out, each roughly being over one hundred pages long and made her way out side.

"It's official Bulma, you've lost your mind."

Vegeta had heard the woman on the phone but something bothered him, the woman had never spoken of a Mike before. He mumbled a whatever to himself and walked out into his balcony. Granted it was the same one that was attached to Bulma's room, but when he was on it, it was his. He glanced down over the railing and glared at the G.R. He could feel he was close, very close. He felt as if he could touch the barrier that hid the powers of legend from him. But yet he could not grasp it, he could not cross into its darkening folds. _Why, why was Kakarrot, a pathetic third class soldier who at one point denied his saiyan heritage able to achieve it? How dare he steal my birthright! _Vegeta let out a frustrated sigh. He knew why, whether or not he wanted to accept it was the real question. Kakarrot had a reason to live, a reason to fight, a true reason to achieve the legendary status. He had a wife, a son, and friends that were dear to him. He knew why Kakarrot had achieved the legendary status.

And yet, it still angered him. At one point, he had a reason to fight, but even Kakarrot took that from him. Was it because he didn't have a true reason to live and protect like Kakarrot did? Were those the two things keeping the Prince of All Saiyans from attaining what he desired most? Perhaps he needed to leave this weak, mud ball of a planet. It was making him weak and that woman! _The woman . . ._ Vegeta could not understand, no matter how hard he tried, which at the time wasn't very hard at all. She did not fear him even though he knew that she knew he could easily snap her like a twig. But even with all his threats, she still got into his face, throwing whatever insults he threw at her back at him.

Vegeta smirked at this thought and looked down to see the blue haired vixen. He was curious as to what she was doing holding all those things in her hands. _Hmp maybe the woman is doing that daft paperwork outside her infernal lab._ But from the look of the things in her hands, Vegeta reckoned that to not be the case.

Bulma set down the things she was carrying and took out the capsule container. In it, she pulled out a large capsule with a gold star around it. She set the container down and looked at the capsule in her hands. "Mike must be desperate if he's asking me . . . I don't even know if I can do half the things I used to . . ."

She sighed as she tapped the button on the top of the capsule and threw it to the ground. As the capsule opened to reveal its contents, she ran a hand through her hair and placed the other on her hip.

Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise slightly and then reverted back to their normal composure. He eyed the large building with some speculation. "What the . . ." He watched as Bulma entered the building with interest. _Bah what do I care! Probably going to cry about that weakling scum._ Though Vegeta couldn't help but be curious, the woman never did anything without reason.

Bulma hummed lightly to herself as she turned on the lights in the large two story building. Everything had remained perfectly in tact and in the same place over the course of the five years it had been unused. She walked over to the large built in stereo and set the last of her things down. Grabbing the capsule container, she pulled out the last remaining capsule. This one had a pointé shoe symbol around the capsule. Bulma tapped the top of the capsule and threw it in the corner of the room. It opened to reveal an assortment of dance shoes and dance clothes.

Bulma easily changed into her old dance clothes, a typical black leotard with pink tights and black shorts. _I'm surprised that even after five years I can still fit into these things. Ah the joys of having the body of a goddess!_ She snickered to herself and then looked over at the various types of dance shoes situated along the wall. He eyes went directly to one single pair of pointé shoes. She snatched them up quickly and looked at them. The shank and box destroyed on one (A/N: For those who do not know what the shank and box are, I will tell you at the end of the chapter) and large blood stains covered the other. Her hands trembled slightly as she held the shoes, dropping them shortly after. _Come on Bulma, get a hold of yourself. You'll be smarter this time . . ._

She glanced down at the shoes that were on the floor, she was going to need to get new ones sooner or later. "Might as well do it now . . ." Bulma walked out of the building and into the house, she had a phone call to make.

Vegeta lye on his bed, trying to focus on his goal. But for him, it was hard. He no longer had the fire of revenge burning within him to keep him moving forward. His only goal, obtaining the legendary status of super saiyan and defeating Kakarrot seemed pointless now. Vegeta closed his eyes, he had nothing left. No home, no family, just a title that meant nothing to the buffoon and his weak half-breed offspring. The woman however, appeared in his mind once more, and something she had said when he first arrived came flashing back into memory.

"_You know Vegeta, I realize you're the Prince of All Saiyans and whatever but don't you want something more?"_

_Vegeta sat in silence, pondering her question. "Power. I want more power."_

_He heard her sigh though thought nothing of it. "Why? What is there left to prove by gaining more power?"_

"_Because I must woman. You are not a Saiyan so you would not understand. You have a home, you have a family, while I have nothing. You could not even begin to fathom why I want power. To put it in terms your idiotic human brain can understand, I want more power because it is the only thing I have left."_

"_Then you are more a fool then I believed you to be Vegeta." He heard the woman leave the room, with what few words she had left. "You have a home, you just don't realize it yet."_

Vegeta scowled darkly, he did not deserve this. Not after all he had done. The millions if not billions he had killed, the innocent lives that were taken all in the name of that bastard Frieza. And yet, Kakarrot had shown him mercy after he killed his friends and nearly killed him and his son. Not to mention this woman allowed him to live somewhat peacefully. Why was this? It was a question that had been on his mind for sometime now, and it was begging to be answered. Slowly, he pushed himself out of the bed and headed down the stairs.

"When do you think you can come?"

Vegeta paused on the stair well as he heard the woman's voice and the soft scribble of pen on paper.

"Okay . . . uhh huh . . . alright that works for me . . . umm colours? . . . well lets see . . . red, black, Russian pink, and European pink . . . The Nutcracker . . .oh I'm Clara . . . why thank you . . . I'm not sure, its been five years . . . Mike Bur is producing it . . . my guess would be the WCPAC . . . okay thanks! . . . See you tomorrow Loren . . . bye now."

Vegeta heard the 'beep' of the Bulma turning off the phone and a long drawn out sight.

"Bulma, you're in way over your head this time, hope Mike isn't expecting anything spectacular."

Needless to say, Vegeta was thoroughly confused. Who was Mike, who was Loren, what was a WCPAC, what was this Mike producing, what the hell was The Nutcracker, and why did the woman call herself Clara? All the questions flooded his mind as he continued down the stairs and saw Bulma on the couch rubbing her temples.

Bulma snapped her head up in Vegeta's direction as he sat in what the Brief's joked as 'the throne chair.' Her earlier argument with him seemed hours ago when in actuality it had only been about thirty minutes ago. "I'm surprised you aren't training Vegeta."

He simply grunted a response to her, "the bots are broken."

Bulma frowned, "When my father gets back he'll be the one you need to go to for all your repairs. I'm going to be too busy to deal with your needs every day."

Vegeta smirked, "Weren't you the one screaming at me in that hellish voice of yours about half an hour ago saying you were done taking care of my problems. I clearly recall being called the Prince of All Assholes." But his smirk quickly faded into a scowl, he would admit to himself he did prefer the woman to work on the repairs, as she was faster than her father and more intuitive.

Bulma's face turned a light shade of crimson. "Well, then its settled. Gives me more free time after January to do as I please rather than do what you please."

"What is the Nutcracker and why did you call yourself Clara?"

This took Bulma by surprise. Not only was he making conversation, it was friendly at that and with a tone that held a hint of curiosity. "It's umm a play. And Clara is the main character."

"What is this play and what is it about?"

Bulma should have figured Saiyan's didn't have plays, being a warrior race under the control of Frieza and all. "Well a play is a story that people act out. It brings the story to life in a sense since the actors can use their emotions to enhance the story." She heard him mutter something about weak human emotions but ignored the comment for the moment. "As for the Nutcracker itself, it's a Christmas story based around a young girl named Clara. Her magical Uncle Drosslymeyer comes and gives Clara a beautiful nutcracker doll. However, her mean brother Fritz breaks the doll out of jealousy. She is angry at her brother and heartbroken for the loss of such a beautiful thing."

"Why, it's just a stupid toy?"

"Well, luckily for Clara her Uncle presents her with an even better one that was bigger and more beautiful than before. Now I can't exactly remember all the details but somehow the Nutcracker is given life as well as all his toy soldiers and all the other dolls and they defend Clara from the evil Mouse King who wishes to whisk her away."

"Sounds like a whole lot of weak human garbage if you ask me."

Bulma glowered at Vegeta, "Well it's a good thing no one asked you now isn't it." Bulma slid of the couch and headed outside to the large building that had been contained in her capsule earlier. She had to practice and practice hard if she had any hopes of being able to even attempt to play Clara's part in the Nutcracker.

* * *

A/N: As I promised, heres some quick pointe shoe 101.

**Shank-** (no it doesnt involve killing anyone sorry) its the underside of a pointe shoe that keeps the shape of the shoe; the stiff insole that provides support  
**Box-** this is what keeps the tip of the shoe flat and gives the support for going en toe; the stiff toe cup that encases the toes  
(I can link a quick diagram if you guys want)

Also, WCPAC stands for West City Performing Arts Center. Just thought I should let you know hehe

Anyway, as always read and review :D


	4. The Clipped Wings of an Aqua Swan

**WARNING**: Vegeta and Bulma are going to be slightly OoC. But there is a point, in any story no matter what you read, where the characters are OoC. So, I apologize in advanced. . .

* * *

**Chapter Four: The Clipped Wings of an Aqua Swan**

Bulma had spent the last three weeks doing nothing but practicing. She had made huge amounts of progress and much to her surprise; she still retained much of her muscle strength. She had her new pointé shoes thanks to Loren and she surprised herself even more by being able to go en pointé rather quickly.

Mike had called her a few days ago to inquire Bulma on her progress and to let her know roughly when they would begin practicing at the WCPAC. Bulma of course informed him that while she had roughly gotten the choreography down and most of her lines, she was still sketchy on the trapeze parts. She had told him that she needed the person who was playing the part of Nutcracker himself to practice the pas de deux within the play (A/N: pas de deux is fancy French for duet).

"Sorry B, but the guy who is playing Nutcracker is in the east doing some touring."

Bulma sighed, "Alright. I'll see if I can't find a practice partner for now."

"Well good luck B, call if you have any questions. I'll probably call in a few weeks to let you know the secured dates."

"Right, I'll talk to you soon Mike."

Bulma focused her attention back on the trapeze stunt. "Oh shit!" She under shot the other swing and missed, causing her to land hard on the net. Bulma let out a sigh and then got up off the net. "I need that damn spotter." Bulma frowned, she had neither the time or the patience to find a spotter, much less a suitable one. (A/N: A spotter is a person who stays in the same spot, allowing the person who is executing the stunt/dance move to use them as a reference point while turning and such.) She repeated the stunt a few more times but then shortly gave up. She hadn't made any of them. "God this is just stupid." Bulma wanted to scream with frustration, but what good would that do? So instead she opted to putting on her pair of practice pointé shoes and perfecting her dance routines.

Regardless to say Vegeta was irritated. And he was irritated as to why he was even feeling irritated in the first place. It was that damned woman. He had not seen her in what seemed like ages and that irritated him. But why should he need to see her, that question caused him to become even more irritated. _What in the HFIL is that blasted woman doing in there?_ He eyed the building with annoyance from one of the windows of the G.R. He noted that the woman seemed to be in stupid building virtually the entire day, sometimes even going as long as he would train in the G.R. And even when he did see her, she would simply smile at him and then be distracted with something else. Needless to say, he was beyond the point of being irate, he was infuriated.

Vegeta shut off the G.R. around ten that night, glancing over to the building the woman was in as he stepped out of the G.R. He growled when he saw that the lights were still on, he knew she was still in there. Before he realized what he was doing, his feet had taken him to the door. His sensitive saiyan ears caught the sounds of soft music being played on the other side of the door. His curiosity got the better of him, causing him to slowly open the door and peer in.

Bulma finished a series of fouettes, landing lightly and started into a leap pattern. (A/N: fouettes [fwe-tay] are turning steps, usually done in a series [usually 2-6], in which the working leg whips out to the side in and then into the knee as the dancer turns on the supporting leg, rising onto the point at each revolution.) Her arms in perfect position, he feet perfectly pointed, and her legs perfectly straight. Her muscles quivered ever so slightly as she went through the routine. She easily finished the dance and went directly into the next. It was slower than the one before, allowing Bulma to catch her breath.

Vegeta watched the woman, intrigued by what she was doing. He had to admit, the woman did look rather good doing whatever it was she was doing. He watched her intently as she moved slowly and precisely throughout the piece, noting how lean her muscles had become.

Bulma went out of a controlled triple pirouette, landing softly as the song finally ended. (A/N: pirouettes are turns done on one leg with the foot of the other coming to rest below the knee of the turning leg.) The next song started up, this one being much faster than the previous two but she simply headed over to the stereo and switched the songs. She glanced up at the clock, it read 10:31 p.m. "Wow it's that late already." Bulma undid the satin ribbons around her ankles and took off the dance shoes. She grimaced at the crimsons stains around her toes and on her tights.

Vegeta stiffened as his sensitive saiyan nose caught the scent of her blood. He knew it wasn't much, since the scent was faint, but it was enough for him to ponder why she would be bleeding. From the distance he was at, he could not see any visible flesh wounds on her. _What's wrong with me! She is a puny, insignificant human weakling. I could squash her like a bug if I wanted to._ If he wanted to? Yet another question that plagued his mind. He glared at her back and watched as she entered a small room off to the side of the stereo which was followed shortly by the soft trickling of water.

"Ouch." Bulma was slowly lathering her body with lotion after her quick shower, hoping the lotion might help ease her sore body and diminish the black, blue, and purple bruises that covered her body. She eyed herself in the mirror she had in the tiny bathroom. She had rather large bruises on her abdomen and back, courteously from the net she used while doing trapeze maneuvers. A large bruise covered her entire right elbow and a smaller one covered her left wrist bone, how she got those she had no clue. Both her legs were covered in miniscule bruises, she assumed she got after accidentally hitting her foot to her leg.

Bulma sighed and put on a pair of soft black shorts and a baggy t-shirt that was twice too big for her tiny frame. She towel dyed her hair and quickly brushed it, then stepped out of her bathroom to head back to the house.

"What in Kami's name did you do to yourself woman?"

Bulma held back a scream as she jumped back. It only took her a moment to realize it was Vegeta and not something worse like a burglar or even worse than that, paparazzi. "Kami Vegeta! Give me a heart attack why don't you!" She noticed him cock an eyebrow at her and mumbled human expression as she went to turn off the stereo. She could feel his presence behind her, and in a way it almost comforted her. However she did not enjoy the awkward silence.

"So Vegeta . . . how's your training?" Bulma mentally slapped herself for sounding like a complete idiot. He grunted a fine as a reply and she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. _Same cranky, grumpy Vegeta._ Her grumbling stomach brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced to the clock once more, it was already past 11 o'clock.

Vegeta looked at the dark splotches that plagued her porcelain skin. For some reason, unbeknownst to him, he felt a slight urge to protect her from whatever was bruising her. He growled inwardly, he was the Prince of All Saiyans for Kami's sake! Why did he care so much, this woman was weak, fragile, too easy to bruise. He slightly poked the large bruise on her elbow, and watched as she stiffened to his touch.

"What the hell Vegeta! That hurt."

Vegeta smirked at her reaction and watched as she cradled her bruised elbow. "You didn't answer my question woman." He narrowed his eyes dangerously at her.

"It's nothing Vegeta."

Vegeta scowled, she was a terrible liar. "Looks like a whole lot of nothing."

Bulma tensed as she felt him grab her bruised elbow again, but to her pleasant surprise, his touch was light and gentle.

"Relax woman."

Normally Bulma would not have listened to the arrogant prince and would have given some snappy comeback, but at the moment she was too tired to care. She noticed how warm his hands were on her skin which made her feel the urge to be closer to him. A small tingling sensation made its way through her elbow and it only took her a moment to realize that he was channeling a bit of his ki to heal her bruised elbow.

Slowly, she felt the tingling sensation disappear from her arm and his fingers slide away from her elbow. She glanced down, noticing her arm barely hurt and the large black bruise that was there was now a small discoloured yellow one. "Umm, thank you Vegeta." But of course he said nothing. His black eyes pierced into her aqua ones, as though he were trying to pierce into her soul. Bulma began to feel awkward, how she hated his eyes showed nothing.

Vegeta smirked, he could see the woman was beginning to feel awkward. He heard her stomach growl and noticed the woman instantly turn ten different shades of red.

Bulma's cheeks burned with embarrassment. Her stomach was such a traitor when it was empty. She hurried to the door and looked back to Vegeta. "Well don't just stand there. Come one or I'm locking you in here!"

"Like this place would hold the Prince-"

"Of All Saiyans, I know I know. Now hurry up!"

Vegeta watched the woman as she heated up leftovers for both herself and him. It was obvious to see the change in her now, she was by far more graceful then when they had first met. He noticed on their way into the kitchen she was graceful with just walking. But there was one thing that caught his eye, he never noticed the woman rub and stretch her back as often as she was currently doing now. It even led him to count the amount of times she repeated the actions over the course of a minute. It was odd seeing her like this. But his mind did not have time to dwell on these thoughts as he was presented shortly with food, that of which his stomach greeted with a happy growl.

Bulma sat down across from Vegeta shortly after she had served him his food. She hadn't realized how hungry she had been until she began eating. She ate quickly, but as always, the Saiyan Prince finished long before she did. Though a smile did grace her lips when he didn't immediately leave when he finished. After she finished, she picked up both the plates and cleaned them quickly. She could feel Vegeta watching her but this time she said nothing, why ruin the few peaceful moments they had together been senseless blabber. _Wow did I actually think that . . . that man is starting to rub off on me._ After she was done she made her way to the couch and turned on the T.V. Her father had left it on the news channel and she was about to change it when a story caught her attention.

"_And now our most recent story: Bulma Briefs. It has been five years since the terrible incident that ruined the Capsule Corporation heiress's career in the field of performing. But recently, there has word that with the upcoming production of The Nutcracker this Christmas season, the heiress may be making a long awaited come back. Earlier today, we asked many of the West City citizens what their thoughts were on these recent reports."_

Bulma watched as the screen changed from the newscaster to a woman younger than herself. _"I think it's great that she might be coming back. I watched her dance in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker when I was younger. Miss Bulma inspired me to take up dancing._

The screen changed again, this time it was an elderly man being interviewed. _"I think the young Miss Briefs has lost what little sanity her family has. You would think after nearly __**dying**__ the last time she performed, that she would stay to what she does best: inventing."_ Bulma scowled at the elderly man and the next few people that were interviewed. The screen turned back to the newscaster, and Bulma watched her intently.

"_For those of you who had not been there during the incident, saw what happened, or have forgotten the seriousness of that day, here are some pictures from tha-"_

Bulma quickly changed the channel. She was not ready to bear the weight of seeing those terrible things again.

Vegeta had watched T.V. with interest as the newscaster began the story but when the woman had changed the channel so suddenly, his attention reverted itself directly on her ki. Weak as it was, it was erratic, spiking every so often. He could hear her tapping her finger on the arm rest of the couch with annoyance and glaring angrily at the T.V. _Something has the woman ticked off._ He walked behind the couch and stood directly behind her. "What was that annoying woman and that elderly male talking about?"

He saw her stretch out her left leg and touch to fingers lightly to her skin. His eyes followed the pattern she was tracing out her leg that had neither rhyme nor reason. But he soon recognized what they were. It had only taken him a moment but there was no other thing they could be. They were scars.

"Five years ago," her voice was soft, barely audible but it was enough to bring him out of his thoughts. "Five years ago was supposed to be the final performance of the Nutcracker at the WCPAC. They were going to finally retire the piece and make it part of the threatre's long history. At the time, I had just turned 22, and I was well into my prime. I was being recruited by all the top dancing, acting, and trapeze companies. But I stayed with my small troupe. They were my second family, and I couldn't just leave and abandon them to go join a group of high performance prima donnas."

"But, on the last night of the final performance, all that was taken away. And it was all my fault that it happened. I was careless, too naïve to think that anything could happen to me. I was Bulma Briefs, heiress to multibillion dollar company and one of the best dancers in the world. Not saying that I'm still not that person, but I'm only half the person I had been."

Vegeta could smell the salty tang of her tears and he could hear the sorrow in her voice.

"That night not only brought the tragic end to my career but it also left the Nutcracker with a dark ending. At the time, I was dancing the final waltz with Mike. I was playing the Sugar Plum Fairy, and he was playing Nutcracker. Something happened and my left shoe gave way. Unfortunately, it had to happen as I was coming out of a turn pattern en pointé. I lost my balance, causing me to land hard on my left leg. At the time, I didn't realize that not only had I broken my ankle, but three bones in my foot and my lower leg, along with dislocating my knee."

"After I lost my balance and because we were dancing near the edge of the stage, I fell. At the time, the stage I was dancing on had opened the pit because we had a live orchestra playing all the music for the dances. So I fell into the pit, which was a good fifteen foot drop."

"I'm not sure what I landed on, all I know was it hurt worse than anything I had previously experienced. Something had sliced into my back and it wasn't coming out." Vegeta saw her lift the back of her shirt up, revealing a very thing, very pale scar running the course of her back, from her left shoulder blade to her right hip. He hadn't realized what he did at that moment until he felt the woman stiffen under his touch, he was tracing her scar with his index finger. Sure he had seen plenty of scars, hell he had so many he couldn't even count them all. But seeing the woman with scars, that struck a cord within him.

"There was so much blood everywhere, and it was all mine. After I landed, I screamed so loud that it rang throughout the entire threatre. And I could hear everyone else around me screaming. It was then I succumbed to the pain and blacked out. I woke up four days later in the hospital, my body consumed in pain. I was stuck in the hospital for three months until they were sure I wasn't paralyzed. It took me another four months just to be able to walk without a cane or crutches and another two months to be able to even walk without a limp. After that, another three months were drained away from my life trying to walk any distance without searing pain shooting up my left leg."

"I was lucky I didn't get paralyzed. If whatever I had landed on gone any deeper into my flesh it would have gone through my spinal cord and pierced my nervous system."

Vegeta looked at the scar on her back and those of her leg. He noted how well she had healed, the scars themselves weren't discoloured and he knew he would not have seen them had the woman not pointed them out. His fingers reluctantly retracted away from her back, instead opting to trail the scar with his eyes until he saw the large bruise on her back. His body screamed to hold her, comfort her in the best way he knew, but his mind, his damned Saiyan pride stopped him. _She's just a weak female . . . yet I still have the incessant nagging feeling to be near her._

Bulma hadn't realized how good it felt to tell someone about what had happened. Granted she had told her parents, but not nearly in the full detail as she had just told Vegeta. Though she was rather surprised that he had listened without making a single rude comment. _There's hope for him yet!_ She smirked as she got off the couch and went to stand next to him.

"Thank you Vegeta."

Bulma kissed him on the cheek and quickly made her way up to her room. She smiled as she sunk into her soft bed, allowing sleep to claim her.

* * *

A/N: Alas chapter 4 is done. I previously had this written as chapter 4, 5 and 6 but seeing as all three were retardedly short I combined them to make one large chapter four. (also has to do with the fact that I could only think of a chapter name for chapter 6)  
Goten: *appears out of nowhere* You meanie, why are you so mean to Trunk's mom! And what about his Dad! Why wont he hug her!  
Me: *slaps a hand over Goten's mouth* Shh, they don't know they're having Trunks yet! And I have to be mean to her, otherwise the ending of the story just won't be right  
Goten: *mumbles something inaudible*  
Vegeta: *glares at the brat that is strikingly similiar to Kakarrot* What was that brat yelling about!  
Me: *sweatdrops* Umm nothing Vegeta, just go back to training. You know, getting super saiyan and all!  
Vegeta: *continues to glare*  
Me: Eh heheh, Come on Goten lets get out of here before we're dead! Tata for now loves, read and review of course!


	5. Of Friends, Family, and Nightmares

Yay, heres Chapter 5.

Goten: Aren't you going to do the disclaimer?  
Me: Uhh, do you want to do it? I stated at the beginning I wasn't going to do it for ever chapter.  
Goten: okay here goes!

Goten Disclaimer: This mean lady doesn't own us thank Kami! If she did, I don't even want to know what she would do.  
Me: *sweatdrops* Goten . . .

**Attention:** I have decided to combine chapters 5 and 6, so those of you who just read this, it was only chapter 5. Come back in like 30min and it will be completed. (Chapter 5 was long enough by itself but I didn't like how Chapter 6 was short and it seemed to fit well with Chapter 5)

* * *

**Chapter Five: Of Friends, Family, and Nightmares**

Bulma was on her hands and knees breathing heavily. Her entire body was sore but she didn't care. _I need to rest but not now. After I get this right . . ._ She rose from her knees and grabbed the bar of the trapeze swing. She padded her hands with the chalk lying beside the platform edge. "I'm close to getting this right, just a few more tries and I should have it." She swung off the edge of the platform, twisting her body in a harsh yet graceful way as she gained momentum. Letting go of her bar, she spun towards her target. _This must be what it feels like to fly._

Bulma had to admit, she was a bit jealous of the fact that all the Z warriors could fly. But she would never say it to them out loud because she knew she wouldn't have the patience to learn. Her hand slipped through a noose on the other side of the room from her swing platform. "Finally." She repeated the maneuver a few more times, making it each time. Letting out a contented sigh, she let go of the noose and let herself fall to the net.

"Bulmaaa!" The door to her building swung open, revealing a very cheerful Bunny holding a tray of food. "Come and eat sweetie! You missed breakfast and you must be so hungry after working so hard!"

Bulma let out a rather audible groan. "Mother . . ."

"Come now, get off that silly net and come eat. I made you turkey, ham, and cheese sandwiches with some fruit. I also brought you your favourite cake!"

Bulma fingered her hair as she was lying on the net. She couldn't ignore her howling stomach. "Kay Mom, I'll be down in a sec." She made her way off the net but her leg muscles gave way when she touched the ground, causing her to fall to her knee. "Ouch."

"Oh Bulma sweetie! Are you okay?" Bunny hurried quickly over to her daughter.

"I'm fine . . . Mom?"

"Bulma? . . . Bulma!"

Vegeta was meditating outside under a shady tree next to the G.R. when he heard Mrs. Briefs scream. _Why that infuriating slave woman. Can't she keep quiet!_ He cracked an eye open only to see Mrs. Briefs running out of the woman's building. He shrugged it off and went back to his meditation. But he was again interrupted by Mrs. Brief's shouting.

"Hurry honey! Something's wrong with Bulma!"

"I'm coming dear, hold on a moment."

Vegeta watched the pair enter the building. This time however he got up and walked over to the window. It had to be something serious if the bubbly blonde slave woman looked worried. Even more so if she called her eccentric husband out of his lab. He glanced through the window and saw Dr. Briefs checking over Bulma. From what Vegeta could see, he was checking her pulse and breathing.

"Calm down dear, Bulma is just unconscious. Hmm . . ."

Vegeta watched Dr. Briefs continue to check over Bulma, noting the rather serious expression on the old mans face and the deep sigh he took.

"Oh honey, is there anything you can do?"

"Well dear, all I can do right now is keep her asleep so her body can rest. She's pushing too hard and not resting enough. However knowing our stubborn daughter and how important this is to her, she won't rest for long."

"Darling, I don't know if I can see my baby get hurt so badly like that again."

"Hopefully that won't happen again dear. I'll call for a stretcher to get her to the medical bay."

"I'll carry the woman." Both Dr. Briefs and Mrs. Briefs snapped their heads up at Vegeta.

"Oh Vegeta darling! How sweet of you!"

Vegeta grunted in disgust at the bubble blonde slave woman. How many times had he been tempted to blast her into the next dimension? Ten, maybe twenty or even more. However he never did it, knowing the woman would most likely restrict his access from the G.R. or any other training equipment. He heard the woman whimper slightly as he picked her up, something he never thought she would do. Something was wrong with her that was for sure. Vegeta mentally berated himself the entire way to the medical bay, these continuous outward show of feelings were angering him. This woman was a disease to him, and he had to get away from it.

_The lights came on and the music began. The shadowed figures danced, twirling, spinning, and leaping in coordination around the stage. They were all dancing around her as her waltz with him began. Bulma felt Nutcracker's strong hands lift her into the air. Their pas de deux was perfect. Like two beings meant to be together forever. She twisted her body in the air as she was brought down by the Nutcracker. Her face was close to his, her eyes opened slowly so she could look into his. But then, she saw nothing, no face, no eyes, nothing. _

"_What? . . . What's going on here!"_

_Bulma pushed herself away from the shadowed figure. "Who the hell are you! What's going on?" She tried to run away, but her body wouldn't listen. She tried to lift her legs but then realized something was holding them in place. She glanced down to her feet and saw dark hands gripping her legs, slowly creeping up her legs. _

"_Get off me!"_

_She screamed as she felt the hands pull her into darkness. She tried to grasp at anything that could save her, but slowly the darkness overwhelmed her entire being and then nothing._

Bulma screamed and shot up from the bed. Her breathing was heavy and erratic. Her heart was racing and her fingers trembled. "What . . . was that? It was so real, but it was only a nightmare."

"Bulma are you okay!" Bunny's bright blonde hair appeared as the door opened quickly. "We heard you scream sweetie!"

"I'm . . . I'm fine Mom."

"Bulma dear, we need to talk to you for a moment."

She looked to her father as he walked in and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. They hadn't had to 'talk to her' since she was a teenager. "About what?" She looked from her father to her mother and back again. Their expressions were serious, or as serious as they could be, which was something she rarely saw.

"Well dear, it's about you and all this Nutcracker business."

"Huh?" It was only then Bulma realized she was in the medical bay connected to an IV and a heart monitor. "How long have I been out?"

It was Bunny who answered her question, "Only a few hours dear. That lovely Vegeta brought you here."

Bulma gave a questioning look to her mother. Vegeta brought her here? Right and pigs could fly. Maybe her mother had finally lost her marbles. _But the possibility is still there. He has been acting . . . rather strange lately._

Dr. Briefs cleared his throat, bringing Bulma back to reality. "Any who Bulma, you were doing the same things before . . . well before that night."

"I don't think I could handle seeing my baby like that again." Bulma say her mother touch her cheek and shake her head in a disapproving manner. She knew her parents were worried about her, it almost felt nice. Her parents normally did their own thing, allowing Bulma to do her own thing. It was nice to know they cared so much.

"Mom, Dad, I promise that won't happen again. And I promise I'll cut back. In all honesty, Mike says I'm way ahead of everyone else in the production." She smiled at her parents and lay back down. Her head had begun to spin slightly after she had risen from her bed so quickly. She glanced over to the clock; it was dinner time, of which her stomach angrily reminded her that it hadn't had a morsel of food since the night before. "Hey mom, what's for dinner?"

"Huh, oh my! I haven't even started on it!"

Bulma watched Bunny hurry out of the room and she couldn't help but giggle at her mother's antics.

"Bulma dear, do you promise?"

"Yes Dad, now please take out this annoying IV and turn off that damned noisy heart monitor." Both Bulma and her father chuckled as he helped her disconnect the annoying medical equipment.

Vegeta was once again in the G.R. After all, it was his one sanctuary from the woman and her absurd family. Sweat beaded his brow and glistened off his body. His breathing was heavy as he was pushing the limits of his body and even those of the G.R. itself. It was the only way he knew to keep his mind off of that damned woman that plagued him. His mind was only focused on one thing, achieving super saiyan status.

"I will not let that buffoon of a warrior become stronger than the Prince of All Saiyans! I too shall become a super saiyan, and when I do Kakarrot, you best be prepared to die!"

Vegeta went off into a flurry of kicks and punches, bounding off the walls and across the floor, fighting and dodging his invisible enemy. He paused for a moment to catch his breath and then went to turn off the machine. _Hmp, I'll come back after I've gotten something to sustain my body._ He showered quickly in the G.R., knowing the woman would give him hell with that damned shrill voice of hers if he went in covered in sweat.

"Whoa." Bulma couldn't help but laugh at herself. So much for being the best self-proclaimed dancer she often called herself. Her legs felt like jelly and she had no balance whatsoever to speak of. "Oh kami, this is just silly!" She managed to make her way slowly to the large dining table that they used for parties and sat down with a fairly audible 'plop' followed shortly by a sigh.

"Is there any use for the irritating noise you make woman!"

Bulma was startled by his voice and accidentally pushed her chair back, causing it to tip backwards and fall to the floor with her in tow. "Damn it Vegeta, that was rude!" She could hear the ungrateful arrogant bastard chuckling from the other side of the table.

"Bulma sweetie, what are you doing on the floor?" Bunny had poked her head out of the kitchen when she heard the crash of the chair in the dinning room.

"Oh ehh he he, nothing Mom. Just umm stretching."

"Oh okay sweetie."

Bulma got up shakily and picked her chair up, half thankful her mother could be such a ditz sometimes. She glared at Vegeta and mouthed the word 'asshole' to him before sitting down. He didn't say anything to her, unusual for him as he always fired back some sort of response to her name calling, maybe he couldn't read lips. She saw his dark eyes flick behind her for a moment and then a large hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hi guys!"

Vegeta narrowed his eyes dangerously, "What are you doing here Kakarrot!" It was more of a growl than an actual audibly question.

Bulma turned her head to see the classing Son grin of her childhood best friend. "Hey Goku, what's up?"

"Oh not much Bulma, I actually came to ask you a question." Goku of course being Goku started laughing and then scratched the back oh his head.

Bulma raised an eyebrow, it was not often he came to ask her a question. Though the last he had, it had been a rather embarrassing question that led to a rather embarrassed Bulma and an even more embarrassing answer.

"You're a disgrace to the entire Saiyan race Kakarrot."

Bulma shot Vegeta a death glare. "Don't be mean Vegeta. Goku is a guest right now."

"Don't be mean! Woman, do you KNOW who I am!"

"Umm is this a bad time . . ." Goku's voice was drowned out by Bulma.

"Oh yes, the all mighty Prince of all Saiyans. More like the Prince of All Assholes. Give me a break Vegeta!"

"I'll break you in two woman!"

"You wouldn't dare! Plus if you did that, you would have no one who would be able to upgrade your precious G.R. idiot!"

"I have your father for that. You are no longer needed woman!"

"I said UPGRADE you monkey brain! Not just fix, but upgrade. I already have the ideas, a simple tweak here and there on an actual planned out blue print. It's all in my head, but if you so 'break me in two' then bye bye upgrades! Plus, my Dad doesn't do full scale renovations of this type of nature you dolt!"

Needless to say, Vegeta was rather flabbergasted. He had lost this argument, no doubt about that. And in front of Kakarrot no less. How embarrassing, though he was forced to admit that he was interested in what the woman had said. Upgrades to the machine could be useful. _Perhaps I won't snap her neck . . . yet._

Bulma exhaled deeply and then smirked, she had won and oh how she was bound to gloating rights now. "So Goku, what's your question?" She turned to face her childhood friend but he wasn't there. "Ehh, Goku?" It wasn't long before she heard his happy voice coming from his favourite room in her house, the kitchen.

"Wow Mrs. Briefs, this looks amazing!"

"Oh you're too sweet Goku."

Bulma cocked an eyebrow, of course he would be in the kitchen. She got out of her chair and rounded the corner that led into the kitchen, smirking as she saw Goku, he was such a child at times.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Goku dear?"

"No thanks Mrs. Briefs, Chi-Chi would kill me. I only came to ask Bulma a question."

"Well then Goku, fire away."

"Oh Bulma! Heh heh thought you were still fighting with Vegeta."

Bulma couldn't help but grin, gloating time had come. "Nah I won that argument, just like all the others."

"I heard that woman!"

Bulma snickered at the angry saiyan that was just around the corner. Goku was indeed a kitten and Vegeta was definitely a tiger. "So Goku, what is it?" She noticed him shift uneasily, Goku was not one who got nervous, even when facing Chi-Chi's frying pan of doom.

"Well . . ."

Vegeta rounded the corner and was standing near Bulma. "Spit it out Kakarrot."

"Well, Chi-Chi heard the news the other day and asked me to come ask you this. Are you really going to perform again? I mean it's cool and all you're going to do it but the Nutcracker again?"

Bulma noticed a few emotions cross her best friend's normally happy face. It was worry, concern, sadness, all those nasty negative things. It was strange to her that he too should be so worried like her parents. "Well yes Goku. It didn't end how I wanted and now I have another chance to fix a huge screw up."

Goku let out a small sigh and ran a hand through his unruly spikes. "Okay Bulma, it's your choice." He let out a small laugh. "I may not be there to take you to the hospital next time."

"WHAT!" Bulma's scream was so loud that both Vegeta and Goku had to cover their sensitive saiyan ears. She had no idea it was Goku who had taken her, hell she knew of his fears of doctors and needles and shots. But for him to actual to take her to the one place he hated so much, that was news to her. She figured that it was a typical ambulance that had taken to the hospital. "Wait wait wait wait, back up oh five years. You were there Goku?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, Chi-Chi took me. I will say I didn't really want to go, but she didn't tell me you were in it. I wondered why she was so serious about going and I finally figured it out when we saw you on stage. It was a pretty nice surprise." Bulma saw him lose his goofy expression to a much colder one. "Until . . ."

Bulma put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Goku, I have a hard time thinking about it too."

"You and your weak feelings Kakarrot."

Bulma shot Vegeta another glare, this one indicating if he didn't shut up now he was going to have bleeding ears by the end of tonight. How he and Goku could be polar opposites yet so similar was confusing in and of itself.

"Well, I better get going now before Chi-Chi gets angry." Goku put his two fingers to his forehead. "You know Bulma, you always looked good with long hair." He smiled quickly and then was gone. As he reappeared in his own home, his smile quickly turned into a large grin. _Those two were made for each other._ "Hey Chi-Chi is dinner almost ready? I'm starved."

Mrs. Briefs had made a wonderful dinner but not that that mattered to Bulma, she had been too distracted by her thoughts to even touch her food. Her mind was centered on that night, the images that presented themselves were so clear like she was watching a movie. Everything was so vivid, up until the point she blacked out. She could hear the people screaming in her mind, like they were screaming right next to her. Perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her, as the sound of someone calling her name was much more clearer in the distance, perhaps it was actually Goku calling her name.

"Bulma sweetie."

How could she have not known that Goku was the one who had taken her to the hospital? Why had he waited five years to tell her that he was even there, and with Chi-Chi too? Why hadn't either of her parents told her, why hadn't Chi-Chi told her? Bulma furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes, glaring at the food sitting in front of her. Perhaps there was more to that night then she had previously thought. Locking out the images and sounds of that night had helped her cope with it previously, but now they were helping her explain what happened.

"Oh my, Bulma!" Bunny's loud yelp brought Bulma out of her brooding thoughts.

"Huh, what Mom?"

"You've bent your fork sweetie."

Bulma looked down to her fork in her right hand, sure enough it was bent. She hadn't even realized she was expending her anger on the poor utensil that was now reformed into a complete 'L' shape. "Oh . . ."

"I'll go get you another one."

Bulma scooted her chair back, which caught her mother's attention. "No Mom, I'm not very hungry. I think I'll just go to bed." The thought of bed brought along the remembrance of the nightmare that sent shivers down her spine.

"But sweetie, you haven't eaten all day. You must be hungry!"

"Excuse me." Bulma ignored her mother, giving her a pleading look of 'I'm Sorry.' She was half tempted to give her plate to Vegeta, as she figured he wouldn't mind but sided against it. She would be starving in the morning, perhaps even sooner. Her plate found its way into the refrigerator and her feet led her away from her worried parents.

Vegeta was rather puzzled by the woman's actions, she had sat silently throughout the entire meal and even he was mildly surprised when the blabbering blonde slave woman pointed out the bent utensil. He at first thought not hearing the vixen's voice would be a relief, but instead it bothered him. He growled inwardly to himself, these foreign feelings were starting to become more prominent. Frankly, he didn't know what to do with them.

Vegeta was not a man of feeling, he was a cold blooded killer. He had purposely locked away those weak things while he was enslaved by Frieza. He had seen how those weak things were used to break a man. He saw how Frieza used those feelings, those emotions against a man's mind. He knew that was the way Frieza had broken Raditz. It was how Raditz learned to not care, and it's what led him to kidnap his young nephew Gohan and nearly kill his younger brother Kakarrot.

After Frieza had beaten Raditz nearly to death, he captured the only person who at the time Raditz had cared about, his mate. The bastard made Raditz watch as he slowly tortured and raped her. And as for Raditz, he watched horrified as he could do nothing. He was left an empty shell of the Saiyan he had once been, living on nothing but rage and vengeance after Frieza killed his 'pet' as the bastard called her.

Vegeta involuntarily shuddered at the thought. He was a murderer yes, but he never relished in the thought of slow torture and rape. All of his killing had been quick and decisive unlike those of the once evil space tyrant. His thoughts had encompassed him so after dinner that his feet had led him down the hallway to his room. However he paused as he saw the ajar door of the vixen's room. The light scent of strawberries tickled his nose. _Those blasted strawberries . . ._ But there was another scent mixed in, the slight salt tang of tears. He couldn't stop himself from slowly peering in. He saw the woman silently crying as she flipped through what looked like a book. It took him a moment to realize it was what the woman had called a picture album.

Bulma slowly flipped through the pages, her eyes studying each picture intensely. She saw pictures of her throughout the years. She saw ones of when she was a child dressed in dance costumes at recitals, ones of her practicing at her old troupe's studio, pictures of her doing what she called semi dangerous but what everyone else called death defying trapeze stunts. She turned the page and came to the pictures of the Nutcracker from five years ago. Bulma paused as her hand was poised to turn the page, but something felt as if it were stopping her from doing so. She huffed to herself, she was being silly and she knew it. She wiped her tears away and calmed herself. It was stupid to fear the past, as it could no longer hurt you.

"The only thing to fear is fear itself. Learn from the past and move on." It was a saying she whispered to herself every now and then. And it was one, if anything, she lived by. Though she didn't know it had caught the attention of a certain saiyan that was looking over her shoulder at the pictures.

Bulma turned the page, a picture of the ill-fated maneuver looked so perfect. A smile plastered on the picture Bulma's face as it effortlessly stayed in the same position. Her eyes drifted down to the next picture, this one was of Bulma on the ground, slowly crimson had started to take over the pink of the tights she was wearing that night. But she knew that the ground of which the Bulma in the picture was on was not that of the stage, no, this was taken after she had already fallen into the pit. Her eyes darted to the next picture on the adjacent page, her snow white tutu was now crimson red with her blood. It was splattered on her face and arms as well. The next few pictures Bulma came to were relatively the same, then she came to one with Goku carrying her out of the pit. He too was covered in her crimson blood.

She hurriedly flipped through the next few pages of pictures and stopped when she came to the ones of her in the hospital. When she had been in the hospital she had been really out of it, so it had been hard for her to know the extent of her injuries. But looking back now, Bulma could easily see how badly hurt she had been.

Vegeta hadn't much thought of the tale the woman had told him a couple weeks ago. Hell the only thing he remembered was her strange act of thanking him for nothing he did and then kissing him on the cheek. He had thought the woman had been clearly exaggerating, but now these pictures stated differently. It was quite obvious now, the woman had told him the complete truth. _How fragile these Earthlings are, it's near maddening how slowly they heal._ Vegeta noticed the woman wipe away the last remnants of her tears and close the album. He wondered slightly if she even noticed he had been there the entire time or if she was so completely oblivious from the world right now she could feel his presence. He saw the woman slowly turn around, and from the look on her face he guessed the latter.

"Tell me Vegeta, have you ever heard of the simple action of knocking before entering?"

Vegeta smirked, "Woman, I am the Prince of All Saiyans. I go where I please." He knew all too well the spitfire vixen would retort with some sarcastic comment about his title but to his surprise it did not come. She just held his gaze, her blue orbs glistening slightly with the few remaining tears that had yet to be shed. He had to wonder what her eyes had that made him feel this way, like she was pulling him in. He subconsciously moved closer to her, but either she didn't notice it or didn't care for she did not move. She only kept his gaze.

Bulma found herself captivated by his onyx eyes. She could see within them the dark coldness they always carried, but tonight they were different. There was something there, deep down, though she could not place her finger on it. It was like a small fire, a burning something. Was it burning hatred, burning revenge, or perhaps something else? A burning desire for something maybe, but what exactly? She could feel how close he was to her and how badly her body screamed at her, how it wanted him. And she admitted to herself, she loved this feeling. The feeling of being so close to Vegeta. They were rarely this close, perhaps only once or twice, and it had been when they were fighting in each others faces. She could feel his breath on her lips, oh how close they were to touching, till an audible bubbly giggle interrupted them.

Vegeta's head snapped him back into reality as he glared at the bubbly blonde air head standing in the hallway. He didn't dare look back at the woman, and opted to proceed out of her room and down to his, slamming to poor door rather forcefully. _How foolish of me! I can't believe that even happened! Look at what these damned to hell emotions are doing to me. They are causing nothing but problems and creating huge distractions!'_

"Oh my Bulma sweetie, am I interrupting something?

Bulma looked to where Vegeta had been and then to her mother. She had to have the worst timing ever imagined. "No mom. Not anymore."

* * *

A/N: All right theres chapter 5. Sorry for people being OoC. I was going mad trying to write this chapter without it but nothing sounded good. So please don't kill me. And sorry this chapter was mostly dialouge, but whatever lol

Now with Chapter 6 its not so much dialouge ^_^

Goten: Thats so typical of my Daddy, he loves Mommy's cooking that of course he wouldn't eat Trunk's grandma's cooking.  
Me: Goten, I doubt that. Your Dad is just afriad of your Mom's frying pan of doom. Your Dad would eat anything.  
Goten: Well, Mommy's frying pan of doom hurts, a lot. But ooooooooh you almost had Trunk's mom and dad kiss didn't you! Ewww  
Me: *facepalms* Children . . . anyway tata for now!


	6. The Pumpkins, The Parties, The Pirates

A/N: All right heres chapter Six.

To Anon: I did think of the sensu bean. However think of it this way, it's a time of piece, how often does the z gang carry around sensu beans during times of peace. They usually get them either right before battle or during some random interlude in the middle. Anyway, thank you for the review ^_^

Goten: What's this chapter about?  
Me: Read it and find out lazy  
Goten: But I don't like reading.  
Me: *facepalms* Goten, do the disclaimer, I'm tired and its late.

Goten Disclaimer: The meanie lady doesn't own us, the Nutcracker, or Ahiru/Duck/Tutu and Rue/Kraehe (from Princess Tutu). Enjoy  
Me: How did you know they were in there?  
Goten: *grins and runs away*  
Me: Anyway, theres a lot in this chapter, so I suggest taking your time to read it. Have fun, and always remember to review. And is it me, or are these chapters getting longer and longer and longer?

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Pumpkins, the Parties, the Pirates**

Bulma noticed over the past weeks that followed the incident after dinner that Vegeta had been purposely avoiding her. But today she really didn't mind, after all it was Halloween. She hummed happily to herself as she pulled out the pulp and seeds of the last pumpkin. Her hands and arms were already covered in the goo as she called it from the first two pumpkins. She put all of the goo into a large bowl, saving it for later so she could roast the pumpkin seeds for later. She could hear her mother humming happily to herself as she prepared food and treats for the costume party that was held every year amongst the Z gang. She smiled to herself, she couldn't wait to show off her costume.

Vegeta slowly rotated himself clockwise in the air, fighting off the intense 275 times Earth's normal gravity. The machine let out an eerie whine and then shut off, launching Vegeta into the roof. Vegeta growled, ever since that old man had been repairing the G.R. it had been dying almost every day. What made it worse is he now admitted to himself the woman was far better at repairing the thing, though he would never say it out loud. He pulled himself from the roof and left the G.R., a brooding look on his face. The damned woman was going to repair the machine, he could easily just seal her in there till it was fixed. The woman wouldn't be able to fight back physically, though the thought of having bleeding ears didn't quite sit well with him.

He walked over to the building the woman was so fond of these days, but to his surprise she wasn't in there. He searched for her weak ki signal and found her sitting at the table, her hair tied back in a low pony tail as she often called them scrapping out an orange thing. He didn't need to announce his presence, the woman had seen him walk in.

Bulma ignored him as he stared her down and grabbed the pen that was sitting next to her. She began to slowly trace out a crescent moon on the pumpkin's face.

"Woman."

She continued to ignore him, focusing on her drawing. After all, it served him right for ignoring her.

"Woman!"

_Damn that Saiyan . . ._ She growled inwardly and put the pen down, looking up at the arrogant prince. "What Vegeta! Why have you so _delightfully blessed me_ with your presence after ignoring me for weeks." Bulma's tone was easily recognizable as mocking and sarcastic. "And for the last time, my name is Bulma, B-U-L-M-A! Not woman, not servant, or any other of you stupid derogatory names jerk face."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, "That damn machine needs to be fixed, _Bulma_."

"Have my father do it, I'm busy at the moment." Bulma grabbed the knife that was lying next to the pen and began cutting out the crescent moon she had drawn on the face of the pumpkin. As soon as she was finished she stuck her hand inside the pumpkin and pushed the piece out.

Vegeta furrowed his brow, the woman was cutting up this orange thing but she wasn't mindlessly butchering it. He picked up the piece that the woman had just cut out off the table and looked at it. He inspected it slightly, and then realized it was a moon. "What is this for woman?" He noticed the woman look up at him, one of her perfect eyebrows cocked at him.

"Today is Halloween. It's an Earth custom that stretches back to old Celtic traditions. It used to be a festival that celebrated the end of the harvest and when the old tribe's people would let their house fire die so they could get new fire from the hearth fire that was lit on this night. They would gather and celebrate before the dark days, being winter, would arrive and leave them rather trapped in their homes."

"Back then on this day, the old Celts believed that the barrier separating this world and the next would wane and it allowed spirits and demons to come to our world. They believed that witches, trolls, and goblins would come to eat their children. So began the tradition of dressing up, as they believed witches, trolls, and goblins would not eat their own kind. This meant the children would be able to come out on this day, they would just have to dress up."

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow, this was by far the strangest tradition he had ever heard, and he had heard a lot. "Why do you celebrate it then?"

"Because it's fun. Though it doesn't signify what it used to. Now it's just a holiday that gives people the excuse to dress up in costumes and for the kids to go trick-or-treating." Bulma went back to tracing out stars and swirls on her pumpkin.

"What is this trick-or-treating? This entire 'tradition' as you put it sounds stupid."

Bulma looked up once again from her carving, catching his eye for a moment and noting the slight hint of curiosity. "Trick-or-treating is a kid's thing. They get all dressed up and then when the sun goes down they go from house to house knocking on the door yelling trick-or-treat if a person opens the door. The person who opens the door can either choose to give them candy or play a trick on the kids. Generally they just give them candy, as playing a trick on the kids will usually result in their house being either egged or TP'd if the kids are old enough to know what that is." Bulma snickered at the thought, she had TP'd and egged a few houses of her own.

"And that?" Vegeta pointed to the orange thing resting on the table in front of the woman.

"And this, is a pumpkin. It's another part of the tradition." She turned the pumpkin so the carved moon and drawn on swirls and stars faced him. "Every year a person is supposed to carve one to ward off spirits. Well technically they are supposed to carve a Jack-o-Lantern which is what the Celts carved. But now everyone just carves what they like."

"Bulma sweetie! . . . Oh my hello there Vegeta!"

Vegeta visibly flinched as the blonde slave woman screeched his name though he was unsure if the vixen had seen him do it.

"Yes Mom?" Bulma looked over her shoulder to see her mother carrying in a platter of caramel and nugget sweets. "Oh wow, those look amazing!"

Bunny giggled, "It's the first batch!" She put the platter on the table and then retreated back into the kitchen to finish making the loads of sweets and party foods. Bulma went back to her pumpkin carving when an idea popped into her head. "Hey Vegeta?"

Her eyes met his and his gruff, "What do you want woman?"

She smiled at him and pointed at the other two pumpkins on the table. "Want to carve the Jack-o-Lantern?" Bulma noticed his eyebrows go up questioningly. "Or, would you rather carve one from you own sinister ideas all mighty Prince of All Saiyans." She saw him glare at her for a moment as she mockingly used his title but her smile couldn't help but widen as he sat across from her. She slid over a pumpkin along with another slender knife and pen. She watched his brow narrow not out of anger but out of concentration and confusion.

"I don't know what this 'Jack-o-Lantern' thing looks like."

Bulma had to suppress a fit of giggles that threatened to erupt from her lips. "Well then, just carve whatever comes to mind." She returned to her pumpkin and continued tracing out the stars and swirls. It was a typical starry night scene but it was one she enjoyed doing year after year.

Vegeta watched the woman as she rather skillfully handled the knife with ease, cutting, scrapping, making her pumpkin carving come to life.

"Ouch."

Vegeta scratched the previous thought, the woman had just pricked her finger with the knife. He looked down to the orange thing presently sitting before him. _Something that comes to mind . . ._ Vegeta slowly picked up the knife and began carving.

A few hours, two pumpkins, and some bandages later Bulma sat back in her chair letting out a relieved sigh. Not only had she finished her pumpkin and the tradition Jack-o-Lantern but somehow she had convinced Vegeta to carve one as well. Her eyes drifted over to the Saiyan Prince sitting across from her and a soft smile graced her lips. She was happy, that was evident, and after all he had stayed after she assumed he had finished his carving. She stood and stretched, her limbs making more than a few audible pops and grabbed a few candles before heading back to the pumpkins.

"And this," she said handing him a small candle. "Is the last past of the tradition." Bulma stuck the candles in her pumpkins and Vegeta did the same with his. She pulled out a lighter from her pocket, lit the candles and turned the pumpkins so they faced the wall. She then turned off the lights, letting the candle light illuminate the pumpkins and project the carved images onto the wall. Her eyes instantly travelled to the image that Vegeta carved. It was foreign to her and her curious mind got the better of her.

"What did you carve Vegeta?" She heard him grunt and slowly her smile began to travel southward.

"It's a saying in my native tongue."

Bulma was rather shocked, _So this is what Saiyan writing looks like._ She hadn't expected a full answer, after all a grunt from him usually was his answer. "What does it say?"

Vegeta smirked, "That is only for a Saiyan to know, and perhaps you may find out one day if you live long enough."

"Gee . . . thanks Vegeta." She turned the lights back on, her eyes momentarily glancing at the clock before she blew out the candles in the pumpkins. "Oh by the way, before I forget, there's a Halloween party tonight. I figured you didn't want to come but it would be better for you to know now than find out later I suppose. Anyway, if you wanted to come, I did buy you a costume while I was out."

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at the woman. "You said only children dressed up."

Bulma waved a finger at him. "I said trick-or-treating was for kinds. There's nothing wrong with adults having a costume party. Plus, in reality, everyone's a child at heart. Who knows Vegeta, you might actually have fun." She smiled and winked at him once more before she retreated to her room. All of her anger about him ignoring her was completely forgotten.

Vegeta found himself being rather shocked at not only his behaviour but hers as well. Not only had they spent a few hours together, they did the same thing together, and without her screaming in his ear and without him threatening to kill her. He recalled she had actually been smiling her beautiful smile the . . . _Wait what . . . beautiful smile, I must be losing my sanity being around these weaklings so much!_ His mind continued to ponder these recent events but it could not come to a conclusion about the strange feelings in his chest. He looked over to the pumpkins and muttered stupid Earthling traditions before heading upstairs to take a hot shower.

He entered his room and sure enough there was the costume the woman had purchased for him. He snarled at it but for some reason could not find it in himself to incinerate the infernal thing. Huffing to himself, he made his way to his bathroom, peeling off his training clothes and entered the steaming spray of the shower, all of his anger about the broken G.R. was completely forgotten.

Bulma slipped herself into the hot water of her bath, allowing her muscles to relax completely and letting all the tensions of the past few weeks slip away. "Oh this feels so nice!" She washed her aqua hair and shaved her slender legs. She had to admit, she loved the feeling of her freshly shaven legs on the tips of her fingers. She smiled to herself as her mind recalled the hours that had passed since she woke up. Vegeta had actually been civil, hell he had almost been nice. Usually after five minutes of being in the same room when they weren't eating their tempers would be flaring and the two would be at each other's necks. _But not today, how bizarre. _

She also recalled how he had listened to the history of Halloween with a hint of curiosity. Her mind mulled over what was going on, first he ignores her for over two weeks and then all of a sudden spends over three hours together with her, carving pumpkins and NOT fighting. _Well, he had come in screaming about the G.R. . . . but after we were done, he didn't say a word about it._ She let out a soft sigh and then got out of her bath, after all she needed to get ready for the party.

Bulma grinned at herself in the mirror. She looked perfect, her aqua hair was in soft wavy curls, her make-up was amazing, and her costume was absolutely gorgeous. _I could have made one hell of a pirate queen!_ She looked over herself in the dress she had bought. When she saw it at the mall, she couldn't resist the urge to buy it. It was a black long sleeve dress. The sleeves were tight down to above her elbow and then were loose and wavy down to her wrists which ended in a ruffled lace-like fabric. She wore the dress off her shoulders, exposing her neck, shoulders, and clavicle. The front of the dress ended mid thigh, the back of it ended mid calf in the same ruffled lace fabric as the sleeves. She wore the dress with a burgundy corset. She pulled the strings of the corset, making it pull tightly around her body and pushed up her breast, revealing quite a bit of cleavage. She put on the matching burgundy headband which she fitted perfectly and then grabbed her black pirate hat. (A/N: Think of Jack Sparrow and the way he wears his headband and hat.)She made sure her make-up was perfect. It was darker than what she was used to, but she did admit she liked how it made her blue eyes stand out even more than normal. Her eye shadow was a mix of dark purple and pink with a thick black eye liner. Her black mascara made her lashes dark and long. Her lips were covered in a shimmery pink lip gloss. Needless to say, Bulma loved it.

She glanced once more in the mirror. Goku had been right, she did look better with long hair. After he came back she had gotten rid of that ridiculous perm but she ended up having to cut off quite a bit of her hair due to the dead and split ends. But that had been ages ago, and now her hair had grown to reach her mid back. _I forgot how much I liked having long hair. There's so many more things you can do with it._ She left her bathroom and got her boots from her closet. Bulma tugged them on easily, as they hugged her calves perfectly. She laced them up easily and then looked at herself in the floor length mirror she had in her room. The boots matched perfectly, black with four inch heels. The tops were folded down giving them the traditional pirate look and the laces were the same colour burgundy as her corset. The boots went up to just under her knee. She quickly grabbed some gold hoop earrings and put them on before the doorbell rang. She quickly headed downstairs and opened the door to reveal the first guest that had arrived.

"Hey Krillin! Looking sharp as always!"

Krillin was dressed in what looked like a leopard print pimp suit with a matching hat and black sunglass. He took off the sunglass and looked at Bulma. "You too babe, lets get this party crackin!" (A/N: Think of his attitude when he gets Roshi's sunglasses after Goku steals them with Instant Transmission in the episode Goku's Special Technique)

"Well, don't just stand there, come on in!"

"Lookin good babe."

Bulma rolled her eyes but couldn't keep herself from smirking. Ever since Krillin had gotten a hold of Roshi's sunglasses he was like this every time he wore a pair.

After Krillin had arrived with Roshi, Oolong and Turtle, more of the Z gang came knocking at the door. Yamcha who was dressed in his baseball uniform and Puar who was dressed as a little vampire bat arrived shortly after Krillin had. Even Tien and Chiaotzu came which was a rather nice surprise for Bulma, god knows how long it had been since she last saw the two. Launch had come with Tien dressed as a princess even though Tien and Chiaotzu hadn't dressed up, though in all honesty they really didn't need too. Bunny had come down dressed in a light blue fairy costume with matching wings and even her father came down, his violet hair sticking in every which way possible as he proclaimed himself to be a mad scientist.

"How original Dad!"

Soon Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan, and even Ox-King arrived. As usual, Goku and Chi-Chi had costumes that went with each other while Ox-King just wore his helmet. It was probably the only time of year that Chi-Chi allowed Gohan to wear whatever he pleased. Goku was dressed as an old feudal era warrior, though his Saiyan hair totally didn't go with the costume, but that couldn't be helped. Chi-Chi was wearing a tradition feudal era kimono that matched well with Goku's costume. Her hair wasn't pulled back into the tight bun she normally wore but a high pony tail. She let her bangs down and they framed her face perfectly. (A/N: Think Sesshomaru/Kagura)

"Wow Chi-Chi. You look really pretty tonight!" Bulma noticed a slight shade of pink on her cheeks and giggled a bit.

"You look really nice too Bulma. And thank you." Both the women smiled at each other.

Bulma turned her head to see Gohan in his costume. "Oh wow Gohan, you look awesome!" She saw Gohan drop his head slightly in embarrassment. He was dressed in a classic black ninja gi, with matching gloves, sandals, and a full hood with mask.

"Thanks Bulma. You look really pretty tonight."

"Thank you Gohan."

Even to Bulma's surprise, Piccolo had shown up, though he just meditated in a corner.

The party soon started after all the guests had arrived. Treats of all kinds were set out amongst the various tables and dinner could be smelled throughout the entire home as Bunny cooked away. The great room had been emptied out completely of any furniture save the tables that were against the far wall and a dance floor had been set up. The music was loud and everyone was on the dance floor except Bulma, Gohan, and Piccolo.

Bulma chuckled to herself as she watched Goku and Chi-Chi dance. She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of envy. They were so cute and perfect together and to her surprise, Goku was actually a rather good dancer. She noticed Chi-Chi say something to Goku which in turn caused him to blush and then kiss his wife.

"Hey Bulma."

She tilted her head and saw it was Yamcha speaking to her. She found herself trying to suppress a scowl, after all she was still angry the lying, cheating bastard even though they had broken up almost right after Goku had come back from space. She plastered a fake smile on her face. "Yes Yamcha?" She found it a lot harder to keep her tone even and not mix her words with vehemence.

"I . . . umm well." Bulma rolled her eyes. After they broke up she saw Yamcha for what he really was, an insecure man who could not be trusted.

"I don't have all night Yamcha." Bulma let her eyes wander around till she spotted a rather stoic figure glaring daggers at Yamcha's back.

"Well Bulma, it's just that . . . well you see . . . I still love you! And I'm sorry!"

"No way . . ."

"Yes way Bulma . . . uhh Bulma?" Yamcha watched as Bulma walked away before he even finished his sentence in disbelief. His girlfriend of ten years had just completely ignored like he was just another stranger on the street. And he felt powerless to stop her.

Vegeta smirked as he saw the woman walk away from the pathetic excuse for a warrior. And that look that Scarface had, he deemed as priceless. What he didn't realize was the woman was heading right for him, not until she broke his thoughts.

"No way, I don't believe it!"

Vegeta dropped his eyes from Scarface to the blue haired vixen standing before him. "What is there not to believe woman!" He noticed the small smile she had on grew larger as she eyed him up and down until it was a full blown grin that unnerved him slightly.

"Not only did you come down, you even got dressed up! Wow Vegeta, you look amazing!"

"I'm a Saiyan, woman. I adhere to tradition, even if it is your stupid Earthling traditions. Think nothing of it." Though even as Vegeta said that his gaze wandered her body.

Bulma didn't know what to think, much less what to say. Vegeta, the Vegeta Prince of All Saiyans, I'm going to kick your ass if you look at me wrong Vegeta, was standing in front of her. And in the costume she had bought him too none the less. _Kami does he look sexy . . . wait sexy, what the hell?_ But here he stood, and she still couldn't believe it. When she bought it for him originally she giggled at the thought of him wearing it. However now, that didn't matter for the pirate queen Bulma had her pirate king, and to her disbelief it was the battle hardened Saiyan Prince. He wore a long brownish-burgundy pirate coat that fell to this calves, his chest exposed save for two leather straps that crossed at the center of his sternum where they were connected with a silver emblem that contained a blue gem. The cuffs were rolled slightly, exposing his hands that were covered with fingerless gloves. The collar of the coat was popped up and lined with silver thread. The coat hugged his body, until it came to his belt, which then flared out around his legs. His belt was silver, with a belt buckle of a pirate skull. He wore dark blue pants, with leather straps loosely wrapped around his thighs. His pants were tucked into a pair of brown pirate boots that had silver etchings on the sides.

"Stop your gapping woman, you look ridiculous!"

But Bulma couldn't stop gapping, until she realized mostly everyone was looking over at her and Vegeta. Her face immediately went eight shades of red and she looked away from him. But her smile quickly faded, her eyes narrowing as she saw Yamcha approach her again.

"Bulma, how could you! You broke up with me for this, this murderer!" He was yelling at the top of his lungs. The music by now had been dimmed down and everyone was staring at her, Yamcha, and Vegeta.

Vegeta began to retort something back but was abruptly cut off by Bulma. "No, you're wrong. So very very wrong Yamcha. I broke up with you because YOU are a BACK STABBING, GOOD FOR NOTHING LEECH THAT I HAVE PUT UP WITH FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS. And I grew tired of it." She too was screaming by now. The vehemence in her voice now clearly noticeable in every word she spoke. "I should have broken up with you YEARS ago. Perhaps after Shelly, maybe Clarissa or even Heidi. I definitely should have done it after that whore down in the bar. But I didn't! And you know why, I was STUPID enough to BELIEVE that you would CHANGE! Then again, you did, but you didn't change the way I had hoped. Oh no Yamcha, you changed for the worse!" She was breathing heavy after her rant, yet anger continued to seep into every fiber of her being.

"But _him _Bulma!" Yamcha yelled, pointing a finger at Vegeta. "He killed me Bulma! _Killed me!_ Yet you took in this murderer, ignoring what everyone else said. I don't under-"

A loud smack was heard reverberating off the walls. The origin evident on the face of Yamcha. A bright red hand print was easily noticed on his tan flesh. Everything seemed to stop for that moment, no one moved, and it seemed as if no one breathed.

"Leave Yamcha. I do not wish to speak to you, to hear your disgusting voice, or even see your face."

His eyes were wide with surprise. "But Bulma-"

"GET . . . OUT!" Her head was bowed but her arm was extended, one finger pointing to the door.

Yamcha looked to Bulma once more before heading to the door. "Come one Puar . . . seems we're not welcome here."

Bulma watched him leave before turning back to her guests. "I'm so sorry everyone . . ." Her voice cracked and she managed to get out of the great room before crumpling to the floor of her room, her vision blurred by tears.

"Oh my . . . would anyone like some dinner? It's ready." Bunny's cheerfulness broke the tension if only somewhat slightly, but still no one moved.

Vegeta was now incredibly confused. After all their fights, all the threats he gave to her, she had defended him. In all his life, not once had he been defended, and now this woman, whom at times he regarded as his worst enemy, defended him. And in a way that actually hadn't compromised his pride. The only person's pride that had been compromised was that of Scarface's, and in front of everyone else too. His mind went into overdrive, replaying the scene over and over trying to make sense of it all. But to him, the entire thing didn't make sense, nothing did anymore.

Bulma came back down roughly ten minutes later to find everyone conversing in low tones. "Jeez, you guys may be the saviours of the world ten times over but you are completely worthless when it comes to partying." Everyone glanced over to her, they could see the slight tear trails that were left though it was obvious she had made herself presentable again. Her smile came back, even if she didn't have Yamcha at least she had her friends. "Krillin."

"Uhh yeah Bulma?"

She grinned slightly evilly at him, "I don't think I ever once said stop the music!"

Krillin gave her a cheesy grin and then turned the music back on. As the music played the tension relaxed enormously and most went back to doing what they were doing before the fight had erupted. Bulma looked around taking in the scene before her. These were times of peace yes, but the looming threat of the androids coming had made the bright days ahead grow dark.

"Hey Bulma."

"Hmm, what's up Chi-Chi?"

"What was that all about, I don't think I've ever seen Yamcha like that in the past ten years I've known him."

"Well, it's a long story Chi." Bulma saw her friend turn and smile at her.

"We have most of the night still ahead of us."

Bulma sighed. "Well, we officially broke up after Goku came back. It was already heading that way, both of us could see it was going to happen eventually. We had a huge fight that didn't end well."

"_I can't believe you Yamcha! You and that tramp, how disgusting!" Bulma was furious, her boyfriend of ten years caught red handed with another woman._

"_B listen, it's not what you think."_

"_Not what I think! I saw you kiss that STD infected prostitute!"_

"_Shelly isn't like that!"_

_Bulma glared angrily at Yamcha. "So . . . her names Shelly huh?" Her voice was razor sharp and colder than one could have thought imaginable. "Well then Yamcha, you can just go crawl back to your _Shelly. _I'm through!"_

"_He's taking you away from me B."_

_Bulma could barely hear Yamcha, as his voice was low with the sound of defeat. "Huh, who are you talking about?"_

"_Vegeta, that's who! I've seen the way you look at him. How you spend every waking moment doing his biding."_

_Bulma felt her rage build even more, "Well Yamcha, if you trained rather than fucked every whore you possibly could find, I might be so inclined to help you train as well. I have no inclinations of dying in three years."_

"_It's obvious you have feelings for that murderer."_

_Bulma's eyes narrowed dangerously, "First of all _Yamcha, _I do NOT have feelings for Vegeta. And second, he could not control his actions, he was forced to do those things by the true murderer, Frieza. Now beat it Yamcha."_

Bulma sighed, "Yamcha came back a week later saying he was sorry and practically begging me to take him back."

"And you didn't right?"

"No I didn't Chi. But we decided to stay friends until . . . well until that happened." Bulma chewed on the inside of her cheek. Yamcha truly thought she and Vegeta were together. She was confused, did she really have feelings for him or was it her mind playing tricks on her.

"Hey Bulma, let's go dance. That always makes you feel better."

She smiled to her friend and then undid her boots, she really didn't want to break a heel. "Hey Chi, you want to be my spotter for the Nutcracker?" Bulma saw her friend raise her eyebrows quizzically.

"Aren't you practicing with the guy who is supposed to play Nutcracker?"

"Nah, the douche playing him is touring somewhere in the East." Both Bulma and Chi-Chi made there way to the dance floor before and idea popped into her head. "Hey Chi, you wouldn't happen to remember Danse Macabre would you?" She smiled to her friend once more. Danse Macabre was a song in the play The Prince and the Raven. At the time, Chi-Chi had actually been part of Bulma's dance troupe, as this was before she entered the tournament, married Goku, and became pregnant with Gohan. They had been cast as the two lead female roles within the entire play, and this song was a duet between the two. They were best friends at the time, but after Chi-Chi had Gohan, her life had focused around him while Bulma continued on with the troupe. They had stopped talking after that and they eventually grew distant from each other.

"Bulma, you can't expect me to remember that dance! I haven't practiced in years not to mention the fact I never got back into dancing after I had Gohan."

"Oh come now Chi, don't be silly. It's not like were performing for some top ballet company. Just feel it in the music!" Bulma could see uncertainty in Chi-Chi's eyes but it soon disappeared as she nodded her head in agreement. "Plus, it's a rather dark dance, perfect for Halloween I would say." Bulma headed for the stereo and turned off the music that was playing as she searched for the Danse Macabre disk. _Ahh found it! _She put it into the stereo and faced everyone.

"You all might want to get off the dance floor for this next song!" Needless to say she saw a few eyebrows go up.

"You gunna show off Bulma?"

"Not just me Krillin, but Chi-Chi too."

"What are you going to do Mom?"

"You'll see Gohan."

Bulma walked away from the stereo and stood next to Chi-Chi. "Well, should we do the lines or no Chi-Chi?"

Chi-Chi pondered this for sometime. "Well, I don't remember all of my lines, but enough to have it make sense I suppose."

Bulma nodded to Krillin and the music started. She grinned as Chi-Chi began, twirling her fingers in the air. Slowly Chi-Chi spun around her, _"Silly swan, did you really think you could defeat me and take the Prince for yourself?"_

Bulma then began her part as she spun away from Chi-Chi, their movements matching each other perfectly. _"You are the Princess of the Ravens. Your father is said to be a being of dark corruption. However, I do not believe that to be true." _Bulma was happily surprised that Chi-Chi danced just like she did all those years ago. She easily made her to Chi-Chi as they clasped hands, almost seeming to be struggling over which princess would be the victor, the swan or the raven.

"_Then my dear Ahiru, you are as foolish as they come. The ugly duckling that became a beautiful swan, tch. You have stolen from me everything, but I will not allow you to take the Prince."_ Both their backs touched as their fingers remained clasped together. Each mimicking the others moves. They both released each other at the same time, leaping towards the opposite sides of the floor.

"_Rue, I have done nothing of the sort. I just wanted to save the Prince's heart. Surely you could love him more if he loved you back?" _ Again the two spun towards each other, Bulma as Ahiru the graceful swan and Chi-Chi as Rue the sharp raven. Bulma could see the sly smirk on her friends face, she knew all too well this was Chi-Chi's favourite part.

"_Then perhaps you should confess your love for the Prince, Ahiru." _Bulma stopped turning as Chi-Chi continued, making it look as if she stumbled but in actuality it was part of the scene.

"_But Rue, I cannot do that."_ They were reaching the climax of the song, but they continued on.

"_But I thought you loved him Ahiru." _The fake mockery was evident in Chi-Chi's voice, but it was all part of her character.

"_I . . . but I-"_

"_Then say it Ahiru. Proclaim to the world that you love him. Or are you so selfish that you cannot? Would you rather live, loveless, than say you love him and turn into a speck of light?"_

The song ended shortly after, Bulma on one knee in a curtsy bow and Chi-Chi with a hand on her shoulder in an arabesque. Both the women looked at each other and then Chi-Chi helped Bulma up before they burst into a fit of giggles. Krillin, Goku, Gohan, Chiaotzu, and Ox-King were clapping at the performance while the others simply had their eyes closed, enjoying the song. Though Bulma did notice one, standing in the shadows, gazing at her intently. Again, she could see the burning he had weeks before, and again she could not put her finger on what it was.

"Oh Bulma, I still think it's funny how I was cast as Rue for the play and you as Ahiru. It would have made so much more sense to switch our roles."

Bulma locked her eyes with Vegeta, his dark onyx orbs pulling her in.

"Bulma?"

"Hmm yeah, it was Chi. Perhaps it was due to the fact you have short black hair, like Kraehe's when Rue turns into her."

The party continued on for a few more hours. Bunny had served an amazing dinner, that of which none was left due to two ravenous saiyans and one demi-saiyan. The incident with Yamcha was long forgotten in Bulma's mind and she was back to enjoying her party. As the party continued on into the night, people began dispersing. Vegeta was the first to leave, though no one was sure when he had gone. Tien and Chiaotzu left not long after that, followed some time later by Piccolo. Only Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan, and Ox-King remained.

"Come on Goku, it's time to go!"

"Coming Chi-Chi!"

Bulma giggled at her best friend and his wife. She was happy that they were together, even if it made her envious. Hell, when she found Goku she was the one looking for love, and now he was the one who had it and she was alone again. "Thanks so much for coming guys. It was a blast!" They all said their final good-byes and Bulma waved as Goku used his Instant Transmission technique to take them home safely. She sighed and headed to the living room, plopping heavily on the couch's soft cushions.

"Man, parties can be so exhausting."

She yawned and continued to get comfortable on the couch. She could hear her mother cleaning up the last bits of the party but she couldn't convince her body to get off of the couch to help her. Her eyelids drooped softly over her aqua orbs and Bulma slowly began to feel sleep etch itself into her body until the soft sounds of music made their way to her ears. She opened her eyes once more, _I could have sworn I turned off the stereo._ Sighing to herself, she pulled her body up and off the couch, making her way into the great room.

"What the . . . why is Danse Macabre playing again?"

Bulma entered the great room, and much as she had anticipated, it was empty. But the stereo had been turned on, of that she knew was for sure. She padded her way over to the stereo, however she didn't immediately opt to turn it off just yet. Her lips went northward as she remembered performing this play with Chi-Chi so long ago. Her finger lightly tapped to the beat of the song and she slowly marked her part.

"Tell me something woman, what is this song about? You and the other harpy were speaking nonsense to each other earlier."

Vegeta saw the woman slowly turn her head and look at him, the same smile she had on earlier had returned to present itself on her lips. The smile unnerved him, he didn't know why, but it just did. Perhaps it was because she was always smiling at him. Hell the only time she wasn't smiling was when they were fighting or she was crying.

"It's the story of the Prince and the Raven. This song in particular is the one that goes with the scene when Rue and Ahiru are dancing to win the Prince's heart. They both love the Prince, however Ahiru can't just yell out his name and simply say 'I love you.' If she did, she would turn into a speck of light and disappear forever." Bulma noticed that Vegeta was back into his normal clothing. She didn't really mind, after all, she was happy he wasn't ignoring her again.

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at the woman, "You Earthling's come up with the most ridiculous of things." He saw the woman shrug her shoulders and yawn.

"Maybe, or perhaps they just seem strange to you. Goku doesn't think that way, and he is a Saiyan like yourself."

Vegeta snarled and stormed up to the vixen. "Kakarrot is _not_ like me. He doesn't even _deserve_ to be called a Saiyan. That clown is practically human."

"What's so wrong about being human Vegeta? Hell without your tail, you look just like us, excluding your gravity defying hair. Only difference between me and you is our blood."

He narrowed his eyes dangerously, "There are far more differences between us _woman._ And you humans are so weak that it's pathetic." He smirked as he saw anger flash in the vixen's aqua orbs.

"Well then, I'll have you know we human's don't need brawn like you apes do to live. We have brains for that. Now good-night monkey boy." Bulma began to walk away but she felt his hand wrap around her wrist, preventing her from leaving.

"The G.R. is not fixed."

"I told you to ask my father to fix it."

"The senile old man can barely manage to get the thing to run." He saw a sly smirk appear on her lips and he instantly mentally smacked himself.

"What are you saying Vegeta? That you would prefer that _I_ work on it?" Bulma took a step closer to the saiyan prince but he did not budge.

"I do not care who works on it, so long as the damned thing runs for more than a day. Your inferior Earthling materials are impeding my training!"

"Well, perhaps you should tell me what saiyan materials are made from so I can synthesize them and reinforce the G.R."

Both the heiress and prince glared at each other, neither saying a word for sometime. Though Bulma did notice he was still holding her wrist. Their eyes were locked together in a silent battle, pride was the only thing keeping each rooted to the floor. She took this time to study his features, his eyes once again pulling her and there was nothing she could do to stop them. They were still cold, but not nearly as much as they used to be. However still no emotion showed through the black depths.

"Woman, stop making those incredulous faces."

She saw his eyes go cold again, "Then let go of my wrist." She pulled against his fingers to emphasize her point.

Vegeta growled, quite loud enough for her to easily hear it, "Not until you say you will fix the stupid machine." He saw he eyes narrow in anger, he enjoyed seeing her angry strange enough. If she had only been saiyan, she would have made a perfect queen.

Bulma grit her teeth together but finally relented to his wishes. "Fine Vegeta, but not until tomorrow." She noticed his grip on her wrist loosen slightly but he didn't not completely release her. Once more their eyes locked together and she could see he wanted to say something more, though she did not know what. His gaze unnerved her more so than usual, though she was unsure why. "Umm . . . is there something else you need Vegeta?"

"You."

Bulma's mind barely had time to comprehend the one word he said before his lips crashed onto hers. Her eyes wide with surprise as she felt his lips on her own. She didn't know that the Prince of All Saiyans, a ruthless killer, could harbour such passion. And much to her own dismay, she was kissing him back with just as much passion. Her wrist was let free as she felt his hands travel the course of her body, allowing her to wrap her arms around his neck and dive her hands into his fiery mane.

Vegeta broke the kiss for a moment, allowing them to both catch their breath before he recaptured her soft lips once again. He smirked inwardly as she allowed him to enter her mouth with his tongue, savouring her sweet taste of strawberries. His hands found their way to the curve of her hips as his tongue conquered hers, earning him a small moan of pleasure from the woman in his grasp. Vegeta broke the kiss again, but kissed his way to her earlobe, nibbling it softly.

"Ve-Vegeta?"

"Do you want this woman?" He could no longer deny the feeling in his chest. Much to his disbelief and anger, he wanted the woman. However he would not take her if she did not want him all the same.

Bulma's mind mulled over the question, did she want this? Want him? She had never been kissed like this before, and body begged, screamed, yearned for it all the more. She heard him growl softly in her ear, he was waiting for her answer. "Yes." It was the only word she managed to get out before her senses were filled with pleasure that cascaded down her to her lips and even further down her neck. She felt him nibble and suck on her exposed flesh as he kissed his way down. _Kami . . . he's so good!_

* * *

A/N: I'm sure you all know what happens next and in all honesty if I went into detail that means I would have to up the rating.  
Goten: I don't understand, what do you mean happens next?  
Me: You'll understand when your older.  
Goten: Wait a sec, isn't this where *turns bright red* EWW THATS GROSS  
Me: *cocks an eyebrow* Whats gross about it?  
Goten: You were going to write about it, about Trunk's mommy and daddy. Thats gross!  
Me: Well . . . some people like the graphic detail. Anyway, what are you still doing up, its way past your bed time. *grabs Goten* Anyway, tata all. Reviews of all kinds are welcomed! (When I originally wrote this it was Halloween Day, so needless to say, its a wee bit outdated lawl)


	7. The Departure of the Prince

A/N: Okay, heres the update. Sorry it took so long, with the holidays and all. I know I said I would try to have this finished by Christmas as it is kind of Christmas themed but it seems I have in doing that, which makes me sad and mad. But oh well, I'll try to have it finished soon ^_^

Thank you Mangaanime and Darkang128 for your reviews. Don't forget to review guys, they give me more incentive to write :D

Goten: Wow Christmas was amazing!  
Me: Oh? What did you get Goten?  
Goten: A bunch of toys. But oh man, the food was soooooooooooooooooooooo yummy! And there was so much!  
Me: *facepalms* You are just like your Dad.  
Goten: *nods with a mouthful of food*  
Me: uhh gross. Anyway. . .

* * *

**Chapter Seven: The Departure of the Prince**

Bulma awoke to bright sunlight shining down on her face. She groaned and rolled over, hitting what felt like a stone wall, that is if stone walls were able to grunt. She opened her eyes slowly and saw tanned flesh in front of her. In an instant, her eyes shot open and the night's 'main event' flooded her memory banks. Somehow during the night they had managed to get to Vegeta's room amidst their lust and passion. She wondered if he was awake or if he was still sleeping so that she might be able to escape his room without detection. _Doubt it, he would wake up if a breeze ruffled his hair wrong. _She was a little bewildered at her own actions, she had slept with Vegeta. Actually slept with the man whom she thought she hated and was pretty damn sure hated her just the same. Yet they had shared a moment together. It wasn't like she and Yamcha hadn't, oh no they had quite a few 'moments' over the years. But not so quickly. She made Yamcha wait for years, and now she had given herself, willingly she might add, to a man she had met less than a year ago.

Vegeta was brooding over what had transpired, he didn't understand how after so many years of perfect discipline that took him so long to master, had been shattered in mere months by this woman. How she vexed him deeply, this woman was an enigma, there were no other words to describe her. Though his back was turned to her, he could feel her eyes searching his back.

He couldn't believe how stupid he was, somehow the woman had slowly wormed her way past all of the walls surrounding and blocking those infuriating, irrational emotions. And what made it worse, is she did it without him even noticing it. But that didn't matter, as he was bothered greatly now by something else. He had _enjoyed_ it, which made him only want to cringe with disgust. How had the mighty Prince of All Saiyans fallen so low? It wasn't just mindless sex he had had with the whores on Frieza's ship when they needed to feed his needs. No, this was something entire different, something he had learned to despise while enslaved by the now deceased space tyrant, yet he was never able to comprehend the extent of its power. Last night had been raw passion, in its strongest form, and he had fallen prey to it's every luscious curve.

Bulma's eyes travelled down his tanned muscular back, and she couldn't help but notice the scars that were prominent. _So many scars, I wonder what evils caused them._ Her fingers lightly touched his back and she instantly felt him stiffen under her finger tips. _So he is awake._ She didn't move her hands for some time, relishing the warmth of his back until an idea popped into her head. Her fingers started to move in a slow, methodical pattern as she gently added pressure. She heard Vegeta let out a muffled growl but it did not deter her.

"Woman, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to give you a massage. You're muscles are way to tense for any normal person. Relax a little."

Vegeta moved away from her and out of the bed, causing her to scowl but then blush and turn her head as she saw him in all his naked Saiyan glory.

"I need to train woman, unless you want those deadbeat tin cans to come and kill you in two years."

Bulma's eyes widened as she looked at the clock, it was already past noon. It was the latest she had ever seen Vegeta sleep in, or for that matter it was the latest she had ever seen him out of the G.R. with no training in for that day. She glanced back at him and noticed he was already donning his typical black spandex shorts he so favoured for training. "The G.R. isn't fixed, and I don't know how long it will take."

"Then I expect it to be fixed when I return."

Bulma watched Vegeta open the balcony doors and then fly off towards the northern mountains. She could only stare in disbelief, he acted as if nothing had happened between them. _Ooh that man! I'm going to kill him! You would think he would take a break once in a while._ She smirked at her thought, him taking a break would be like Goku not eating, it would never happen. She slipped out of the bed, picking up the discarded clothing she had been wearing the night before and headed to her room to take a well needed but quick shower.

"Kami what the hell! . . ." Bulma eyed herself in the mirror, large bruises covered her hips, waist, abdomen, and buttocks. The only explanation she had was they were accidental pressure bruises from Vegeta. But what had surprised her was she didn't notice till after her shower. "Damn that Saiyan and his ridiculous strength." She grumbled to herself for sometime before putting on an old pair of sweat pants and a stained grey hoodie. No sense in beautifying herself up if she was just most likely going to come out covered is grease from the G.R. later that day. She made her way down to the G.R. and was rather shocked at what she saw. "This . . . is going to take longer than I thought . . ."

Bulma wiped the sweat from her brow that had accumulated there. She had been working on the G.R. for over two hours now and it was no where near ready to be used by Vegeta. "Oh this is just stupid!" She threw her hands up into the air and let out a frustrated sigh. She always knew her father to be thorough in his work, but now she questioned if he was getting senile like Vegeta had said. _I doubt it, most likely that ugly ape kicked him out as soon as my Dad said it was fixed before he could run any full scale diagnostics._ She had wires coming out of practically every panel in the machine and electronics of all types were spread out on the floor. Needless to say, it looked like a war zone, and she was caught right in the middle of it.

"Come on, clear through you stupid thing!"

Bulma looked at the diagnostics she was running. Only two out of the nine tests she was running had been completed and the other seven were moving at an agonizingly slow pace. _Maybe it was a bad idea to have my Dad fix the G.R. But it still doesn't explain how so many things got messed up. This thing could have exploded . . . again!_ A beeping sound brought her out of her revere and she looked down to her laptop. Test five was blinking and had completely stopped.

"Look here you stupid thing, if you don't start downloading the information right now, I'm going to recycle your metallic ass!"

Bulma growled to herself, what would yelling at her poor laptop solve? It was already being pushed to its limits and it kept on going like a little trooper. Plus without it, she would be running back and forth between Vegeta's _precious_ machine and her lab. She let out a discontented sigh, she knew this wasgoing to keep her up the rest of the day and perhaps even the rest of the night. _DAMN THAT SAIYAN!_

Vegeta breathed deeply, calming his sense. The frigid air stung his lungs slightly, but he did not mind. The cold helped to clear his head, helped him focus his mind on his goals. To achieve Super Saiyan, was first and foremost, destroy those tin cans, and then kill Kakarrot. This woman, the aqua haired vixen, held no place among any of his goals. Yet she haunted his dreams at night and his mind by day. He needed to leave the weak mud ball planet, for the woman had become far too great a distraction. He had let all of the passion and lust contained within every fiber of his being take control and he did not like that. Vegeta was a man who was always in control, always keeping those blasted emotions check and bound.

He opened his eyes slowly, his decision had been made. He would train in the solitude of space, where there was no aqua haired harpy to distract him. He would return in two years time, perhaps sooner if he mastered becoming a Super Saiyan. Vegeta smirked at the very thought, him a Super Saiyan, a thing of legend. Oh how he longed to feel the legendary powers surge throughout his body. He brought his ki up enough to warm his body and then dropped it again. He needed to retrain his body for space, for it was nothing but a cold, dark abyss.

Vegeta remembered the first time he was taken into space, he was only five. It was the day the damned lizard took him away from his home and family. The cold was like nothing he had ever experienced before. His home planet of Vegeta-sei rarely dipped below ninety degrees Fahrenheit. But in space, there had been no bright desert sun that bathed him in its crimson warmth. He snarled at the thought, how he hated remembering his cut short days on Vegeta-sei. Remembering only brought misery and right now he didn't need that, he needed to focus.

Bulma was becoming worried. Three days had passed since Halloween night and still Vegeta had not returned. The G.R. had been fixed correctly a day ago, much to her anger and frustration. Her body did not feel sore till the day after she woke up in bed with him, causing her to work slightly slower. And yet still no sign of the Saiyan Prince. So many questions raced through her mind. Was he hurt? Had he left for good? No that couldn't be right he said he would be back, right? Did he regret that night? Why hadn't he come back? Was he avoiding her? And the question that she dreaded most, did he hate her?

She tried her best to keep her mind from wandering off to the Saiyan Prince. She would dance herself to the point of exhaustion but as soon as she would undress she would see the bruises from that night and her mind would instantly dive deep into thoughts of him. She could not bear to eat in the kitchen with her family, that was where she and he usually fought. She couldn't work in her lab, for everything she was making was to help him train. Needless to say, Bulma was getting very irritated.

A week passed before the Saiyan Prince returned. In the course of that time, Bulma's worry had turned to frustration and then to anger. Her anger soon spiked to pure fury as he ignored her upon his return, only speaking in low tones to her father. She couldn't hear them, but from the curt nod her father gave, it could not have been good. She saw Vegeta look at her, their eyes locking for a moment. She saw the coldness that she had not seen since he first came to live at Capsule Corp had returned. And how she hated them. How she loathed him. Her fury spurned her to yell obscenities in his face till his sensitive saiyan ears bled. Yet for some odd reason, something held her back. She could only glare her hatred to him, but a dark feeling over came her heart and she had to wonder if he was going to go through with what she was thinking.

Vegeta could sense the woman was angry, very angry. He could feel it radiating off her body in thick waves. If he were anyone other than the Saiyan Prince, he would have been frightened. But then again, who was he other than the Saiyan Prince? He had spoken to the harpy's father about fueling and readying the space craft but it had come to somewhat of a surprise to him when the old man told him the space craft was for the most part, ready to go. He said something about the woman working on it for a couple of days fixing every little kink and malfunction it had in its system. But of course, Vegeta didn't really care. He just wanted to be off the damned planet as soon as possible, before he lost control again.

Even after being gone for a week Vegeta knew he didn't have full control over this damn temptation the vixen possessed. The fact that she was angry didn't help either. That was what enticed him the most, her anger. It outrivaled that of any saiyan female, of that he was for sure now. It made her look more beau- _No. I will not think about that disgusting woman._ He growled under his breath, the woman now clouded his thoughts more than ever. Though her gestures weren't helping either. In being back for only a day he noticed the glares she had given to him continuously. Luckily for him though, the old man had already fueled the ship and the blonde slave woman was stocking capsules full of food for his journey.

Bulma wanted to cry when she found out. Her fears had become reality, he was leaving. And for how long, she didn't know. It was perhaps that thought that made her cringe. She was angry with him yes, but the thought of losing him in space made all her anger disappear, only to be replaced by apprehension, fear, and worry. She watched her father fuel the ship and her mother store large amounts of food into capsules for Vegeta. Her heart felt like it was tearing in two. But why? When had she become so attached to the stupid, arrogant, monkey bastard? Surely one stupid night in bed had not made her emotions swell to such a state? But her mind kept replaying that night. It was the only time she ever fully saw what those dark, rich onyx eyes held. _Damn it, get out of my head you stupid monkey! This can't be happening! My heart is not ready for this, not so soon after Yamcha._

The phone rang breaking Bulma out of her thoughts. She effortlessly glided over to the phone and noticed it was Mike calling. She slowly picked up the phone, after all she had completely forgotten about the play in December and figured him calling her would probably end up being rather important. "Hey Mike."

"Bulma darling is that you?"

"Of course Michelangelo! To what do I owe the honour of your lovely call?" She couldn't help snicker at their little jokes. It was like she was a teenager all over again.

"Oh I should hope you would know my lovely darling." It was obvious to her that Mike had picked up on their little joke again as he was playing along with it too. "I have called the infamous queen of dance to let her know when she may bless us with her absolute daring presence. I know I dare to ask this of the lovely lady so soon, but we would be obliged to have her with us starting on Wednesday."

She tossed a wary glance to the calendar. Wednesday was tomorrow, _damn why couldn't he have said tonight_. "Yeah Mike, that works for me. What days will I be coming down?"

"Probably every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday till the performances begin. Of and before I forget Bulma, would you be willing to switch your role?"

"Huh, switch my role, what for Mike?"

"Well you see, the lady playing the Sugar Plum Fairy absolutely despises the man who is playing the Prince. She flat out screamed that she would rather die than do a pas de deux with him. And I would rather not lose her in the play. She said she could handle playing Clara, as she and the Prince do not dance with each other."

_Just like last time, I would be playing the Sugar Plum Fairy again. _Bulma pondered his request for some time. The role would be easier in a sense, as the Sugar Plum Fairy only appears in the second act of the play. But the dancing would be harder, and doing a full on pas de deux without the main partner could prove challenging. "I will switch the roles on one condition, the man playing the Prince has to be back in town."

"Yes he's back now. His touring ended a few days ago actually and he's flying in tonight."

If Mike could have seen her, he would have seen her nod her head. "Well then Michelangelo, you have a deal."

"You make my life too easy, oh mighty queen of dance."

Bulma snickered at this comment. "Anyway Mike, I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right Bulma, sorry about the sudden change."

"Don't worry about it."

"Thank you Bulma, good-bye and see you tomorrow."

"Bye Mike." Bulma set the phone down and let out a sigh. She really should have thought switching the roles through some more. But it didn't matter to her now. All she had to focus on was a few dances and luckily no trapeze parts except one. But that one was easy, all she would have to do is sit on a swing and slowly spin on it to the ground when she 'magically appears.'

"Woman, your stupidity with other Earthlings continues to astound me. You would never hear two Saiyans talk to each other like that."

Bulma's small smile quickly turned to a scowl. Her mood that had become slightly happier while she had been talking with Mike instantly turned sour. Slowly, she turned to face her physical, mental, and emotional tormentor. "What. Do. You. Want. Vegeta." Her tone was threatening as she emphasized every word to her question with a deadly glare.

Vegeta returned her glare with one just as deadly. "What makes you think I want anything from _you_? I simply walked in while you were on the phone."

"Then leave. I already have a hard enough time dealing with my emotions at the moment and seeing your ugly mug isn't helping."

"Woman, you do not order the Prince of All Saiyans to leave. And I suggest getting over your emotions and forgetting about that night, as it meant nothing."

Bulma watched Vegeta leave, the look of blasphemy written all over her face. At least he had answered her question of if he hated her. Unfortunately, she did not like the answer. She could have dealt with him hating her, it wouldn't have been so bad. But the fact that he didn't even care that the moment they had together was something, that broke her completely. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes and she couldn't stop them. She wanted to hole herself up in her room, however her feet had other ideas. They carried her out the door to the space ship that was in the final preparations for take off. She glared at the back of the Saiyan who rightly disregarded every single one of her emotions as he headed up the ramp to the space ship. It took everything she had to keep from falling to her knees as she heard the space ship power up and blast off into space.

He was gone.

She was heartbroken.

And nothing ever felt so wrong for the both of them.

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A/N: And heres to the end of Chapter 7. Damn that Vegeta, leaving Bulma so soon.  
Goten: Why did he leave?  
Me: Cuase he's a prideful prick that won't admit he has emotions and feelings for Bulma.  
Goten: I'm confused, Aunt Bulma and Uncle Vegeta never act like this when I'm around.  
Me: Goten, keeping in mind this is how they first met and you nor Trunks were born.  
Goten: Oh right, sorry I forgot.  
Me: *headdesks and points to Goten* Example A as to why I'm never having children.  
Goten: Hey thats mean! You meanie face!  
Me: *eye roll* Anyway, review away and I shall update soon. Tata for now loves. And don't worry, Vegeta won't be gone for too long however the next chapter or two are probably going to be mostly Bulma oriented.


	8. The Aqua Swan and the Silver Nightingale

Okay I'm back and with a new update for you all. I wanted to personally thank **wolfwoodroxxie****, ****alysia16****, **and **Racy Nucleoli** for their reviews on chapter 7.

I will admit, I'm not very pleased with how this chapter came out. . . but it's needed to move things foreward I suppose.

Goten: Hey you're not dead!  
Me: What's that supposed to mean?  
Goten: Well you were all like sick for a week and wouldn't eat or drink anything.  
Me: You've never experienced food poisoning have you?  
Goten: What's that?  
Me: Nevermind, but yes thats why I was gone, so enjoy this chapter and I will update asap with some more reviews. I already have chapter nine in the works

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The Aqua Swan and the Silver Nightingale**

He was gone. Just like that, poof off into space. Bulma wiped the tears from her face, she really had no idea why she was crying. She had managed to get to her room and collapse on her bed before the entire dam blockading her tears was completely broken after he had left. But that still didn't answer her question, what had he done to make her break down like this? _He said it meant nothing, then why did it mean so much to me? I can't possibly love that ungrateful bastard, there's just no way._ She lifted herself off her bed and walked into her bathroom. She could easily see the small streams her tears had made down her face.

"Oh this is just stupid. Vegeta is just an arrogant, ungrateful prick. And frankly, I don't care. He can die in space for all I care . . ." But Bulma knew she was lying to herself. She did care, but she was just trying to convince herself that she didn't. "Ugh! It doesn't matter. Maybe I do care, but right now I can't think about him. I have better things to do than waste my time crying over _him._" She dried her face and looked into her mirror, she was practically the spitting image of herself when she was a teenager, just more mature looking now.

Bulma paced in front of her bathroom mirror, pondering what tomorrow was going to hold in store for her. She had switched her role without really giving it a second thought and now the more she thought about it, the more it troubled her. Granted she still remembered the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, as she had played the role many times but that wasn't what was troubling her. _Just like last time . . . _To say she wasn't slightly scared by this would have easily been a lie, as she was somewhat scared of playing the role again after her incident. Though the prospect of playing the one thing that half near ruined her life was rather enticing. She let out a sigh and then left her bathroom, it wasn't really late but it wasn't that early either. _Perhaps I should go look over those parts for the play._

"Bulma sweetie!"

Bulma looked up to see her mother coming up the stairs as she was heading down, her typical bright bubbly smile plastered on her face. "What's up mom?"

"Are you and that lovely Vegeta having your first fight as a couple? I mean he just left so suddenly!"

"What! Mother no, we're not fighting and we're definitely NOT a couple! How can you even think that?"

"Oh don't be silly Bulma, he's the perfect husband material. So devoted and so serious, he's just wonderful!"

The way her mother doted over that man was nearly enough to make Bulma gag. "First of all Mother, he is not perfect or wonderful, or anything nice like that. Yes he is serious and devoted, but only to his damned training which is why he is in space. Now if you will excuse me." Bulma stormed out of the room, how her mother could be so dense she really wasn't sure. It was quite obvious that Vegeta hated her, and she was pretty sure if a man hated the woman, he was not good husband material.

Bunny giggled as she watched her only daughter storm out of the room. "Oh those two are perfectly stubborn for each other! I can see the grand babies now!"

Bulma sighed as she was lying on the floor of her dance room. It had gotten pretty late since her 'talk' with her mother but she still wasn't too keen on heading inside just yet. Her mind silently wandered to Vegeta as she was resting on the floor. She wondered what he was doing though she figured she knew the answer. _The stupid man is probably training himself to death._ She frowned, when the hell did she start caring so much? And after all, she had resorted to what he was doing with dancing.

"Well . . . it's not like I don't have a reason . . ." Her frown depend even more, she was almost sounding like him trying to justify her actions.

She got up off the floor and took off her pointé shoes, opting to dance barefoot for a while. A sly smile slowly appeared on her features and she gracefully walked over to the stereo, switching out the Nutcracker CD with one of her favourite rock band CD's. After all, she hadn't done improvisation dancing in over five years being as she had been entire focused on the production. The song started up fast and Bulma pushed herself away from the stereo, her twists, kicks, turns, jumps all sharp with an almost feral intensity.

Before she knew it, her mother came in, calling to her saying dinner was ready. Bulma grinned to her mother and turned off the stereo, her feet hurt after dancing barefoot but she was glad she had found a way to pass the hours without thinking of Vegeta. _Vegeta . . ._ But even now as she sat at the dinner table, her mind would not stray away from him. She ate her dinner in a mechanical manner and afterwards headed to her room for a well needed shower. She stripped herself of her clothes and stepped into the hot spray of the shower, letting the warm water trickle down her body and relax her muscles. Bulma let out a sigh, at least tomorrow she would be with the troupe, practicing the Nutcracker all afternoon and evening. She smirked at this thought, though she did wonder who was playing said Nutcracker.

"You've got to be shitting me! Mike, him of all people! Why him! Why in Kami's sake did you . . . cast . . . him!" Bulma was angry, no it was beyond that, she was furious. She had arrived at the WCPAC not five minutes ago and had discovered who her partner was, the man who was playing the Prince.

The poor blonde haired man with the ice blue eyes raised his arms defensively over his face. "Bulma he's the only guy who you've performed with and the only person who knows this role as well as you know yours."

She wanted to scream with fury, now she knew why the girl, who Bulma later found out was named Marissa, wanted to switch roles. She glared over at the man who was roughly her age with long silver hair, longer hair than even her own.

"Bulma Briefs, you are still that overbearing, cry baby, prima-donna, drama queen you were five years ago." His voice was sly and just dripping with venom.

"Well Leon Trowsky, you are still the same pathetic excuse of a performer you were five years ago. Only now you trip over your hair instead of your pigeon toed feet. Be glad you get to even be seen on stage with me again."

Mike visibly sweat dropped, he knew that the first thing that happened between Bulma and Leon would be a fight. They had done it every time they first saw each other when a new production came along. But Mike also knew that the pride each contained for performing would make the performance absolutely dazzling. "Well come one now you two, if you're done fighting we have five weeks to perfect this piece, lets get practicing!"

The aqua swan and silver nightingale glared at each other once more before getting on the stage to stretch. Bulma couldn't help but smirk, she had just gotten rid of one arrogant, prideful, and egotistical prick only to gain another. But her mind stopped on the former arrogant, prideful, egotistical prick and she could not place the feelings she felt swell within her chest. She cast a sideways glace over to Leon, letting a small smile now grace her luscious lips. In a way, he reminded her of the fiery saiyan prince, but even she knew the silver locked man couldn't hold his own against Vegeta. He was nothing compared to her Vegeta. _What the hell . . . my Vegeta? Where in Kami's name did that come from?_

"Bulma, are you ready or not. Frankly I don't feel like spending all night practicing with the like of you, let alone even touch you."

She scoffed at his comment and stood up shortly after he did. "Yes I'm ready, I was waiting for your slow ass to finish up." She noticed him give her a strange look and glance to her feet. Her eyebrows knitted in response to his actions, "What!"

"Where are your toe shoes?"

Bulma cocked a perfect eyebrow at her silver counterpart. "I guess these past five years have muddled your brain. I always do the first rehearsal in flat shoes."

Leon shrugged his shoulders, yes five years had caused him to forget the aqua woman's awkward quirks, not that he paid that much attention to them in the first place.

Bulma was rather surprised, happy but surprised. By the end of the evenings practice, the entire troupe had managed to roughly finish one entire performance of the piece. She smirked in satisfaction, it was like being a teenager again in her old troupe. And needless to say, she felt it was nice. Though her ending pas de deux had been rough, not nearly as graceful as she would have liked nor what it should have been. She let out a short sigh, after all she knew she was bound to get heat from Leon over it. She was doing some final stretches on the stage in hopes that she wouldn't be sore in the morning when said person approached her.

"Mind if I join you Bulma?"

She glanced up to the silver haired man and nodded, she had been expecting this after all. Yet as he sat down, he was silent. _Maybe he didn't come to chew me out._

"Bulma."

_Maybe not._

"I just wanted to let you know I'm rather . . . how to put this . . . shocked, surprised, no those aren't the right words . . ."

Bulma cocked an eyebrow at Leon, he seemed flustered for some reason. She figured it was because he seemed embarrassed, but of what she didn't know.

"I suppose I'm happy you're back. Even more so that you haven't really changed much since the accident."

Her eyes widened a bit with shock, never in her life had she expected a compliment from Leon of all people. "Wh-what are you saying Leon?" She received her answer, but not in the form or words. It took her mind a moment to register what was going happening, Leon was kissing her.

_But it feels so wrong._

_Why does it feel wrong? Surely you two would be good together._

_Use your brain for once instead of your lust, think about what the others would say._

_The other, like who? Surely not Vegeta. You know he doesn't care about you. He fucked you then left._

_You know he's probably confused. You saw that look he gave you before he left._

_One of disgust and indifference!_

_VEGETA!_

Bulma pushed Leon off her, wiping her mouth and glaring at the man. "If you ever and I mean EVER do that again Leon, I will personally rip off your balls and feed them to some rabid beast." She left the stage and a smirking Leon behind, he didn't care she didn't kiss him back, he could still brag that he had kissed the _Great Bulma Briefs. _

She on the other hand was definitely not smirking. The little incident replayed in her mind over and over like a broken record as she got into her car. At one time, she would have loved for Leon to kiss her, yes even she at one point in time had a huge crush on the man. But now, she felt disgusted and violated in a sense, and it wasn't just the kiss that bothered her. Oh no, it had also been what had gone through her mind at the time.

Bulma hadn't even realized her thoughts had preoccupied her mind so until she parked her car in the driveway of her home, heading straight for her room. However she stopped at her door, her hand hovering right above the door handle and she glanced down the hall to the former room of the Saiyan Prince. Before she knew it, she had opened the door to his room and was lying on his bed. The sheets still weekly help his musky scent and Bulma found herself inhaling it deeply. Her eyes widened and she sat up quickly as realization hit her. She had been trapped without even knowing it, trapped in a complex web she didn't quite understand.

She, Bulma Briefs was head over heels in love with a man who was possibly the coldest, heartless and most ruthless man in the entire universe. And yet, she felt a sense of calm as this realization hit. Her heart belonged to only one person, and that said person was off who knows where in space.

_I'll be waiting for you, so you better come back . . . jerk._

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A/N: And there you have it, chapter eight done and over with. Hehe thought I would through a little BulmaxOC in there, well guess what, I'm not. Just needed someone to remind Bulma of Vegeta and acknowledge that she does indeed love him. Also, I have upped the rating from Teen to Mature just to be safe. I've had the urge to put a little zesty freshness near the end but I still haven't decided. But, better safe than sorry right?

Goten: Why we're you sleeping in school today?  
Me: Uhh... are you stalking me Goten?  
Goten: No... just heard you fell asleep in half your classes.  
Me: Could be because I stayed up till 3 a.m. writing this because I had a spur of the moment itch to write.  
Goten: Ohh  
Me: Anyway, read and review, after all it is a crime to read and not review on fanfiction :D And the next chapter should be up this weekend if not sooner depending on how crammed I am with finals review :)


	9. The Nutcracker Closes In

Yay, here's Chapter Nine :D Thank you **alysia16**, **Racy Nucleoli**(you're reply was exetremely energetic and I loved it. I look foreward to your next review :D), and **digitalfragrance **(You caught me! Yes I am a huge Kaleido Star fan :D) for your reviews! I look forward to your reviews and more for this chapter :D

Goten: Don't you have those things called finals to be studying for?  
Me: Umm...I don't know wat you're talking about.  
Goten: Your lying!  
Me: So what! They're just finals.  
Goten: Uhh huh...  
Me:...don't give me that...

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**Chapter Nine: The Nutcracker Closes In **

Four weeks passed quickly much to Bulma's happiness and with them signaled the end of November and the start of December. She smiled and got out of bed, humming happily to herself that morning, glad she didn't have to go to the WCPAC later for practice. She took a quick shower and threw on a pair of light blue capri sweat pants and a white noodle strap shirt. Yes, today would be a good day for Bulma Briefs, after all it was December first which meant it was time to start decorating for Christmas. She headed downstairs to find her mother already cooking breakfast and also humming to herself.

"Good morning Mom!"

"Oh Bulma sweetie, good morning! Breakfast is almost ready honey."

Bulma sat down at their smaller kitchen table, happily awaiting breakfast which presented itself shortly. Even her father joined them for breakfast, claiming his work could wait a little bit longer.

"Oh I'm so happy it's December now!"

"Why is that Bulma dear?"

"Well Dad, it means only twenty-four days till Christmas!"

"Bulma sweetie, are you going to start decorating today?"

"Of course Mom, I wouldn't dare wait till later!" She smiled at her mother who was giggling and then proceeded to finish her breakfast quickly so that she would have plenty of time to decorate. She thanked her mother hastily for the breakfast and headed outside to the storage shed located on the southern edge of the Capsule Corp. grounds. Bringing in the Kami knows how many boxes filled to the brim with Christmas items was only one of the many daunting tasks of decorating for this holiday however Bulma didn't mind. It was the reason Christmas was her utmost favourite holiday. It wasn't that she was extremely religious or that she loved receiving presents, though she did enjoy that part, it was what the holiday meant to her personally. The holiday always brought out the best in everyone and it always brought all of her friends and family which always made her smile.

However, her smile did falter for a moment as she thought of a certain flame haired friend. Bulma had come to terms with the prideful prick always being on her mind, and she found herself missing him even more. _I wonder what he's doing . . . if he even misses anything about Earth._ She sighed, letting the thought drift about in her head, and began heaving the boxes of Christmas trinkets towards house, wondering if Saiyans had a holiday like Christmas . . . or for that matter if they even had holidays.

Two hours later, Bulma set the last box of Christmas decorations down in her house and wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on her brow. She smiled as she looked at the clock, it wasn't even ten yet. She quickly opened all the boxes, looking into each to see what they contained, and pushed the ones that had the ornaments, tinsel, and other smaller Christmas trinkets into a corner where, when they bought it, the Christmas tree would go. She also knew she had to buy fresh mistletoe, after all what sane person didn't like a little peck on the lips or cheek under a sprig of the silly little herb.

By the time 3 p.m. rolled around the entire Capsule Corporation grounds had radically changed. Bulma had strung up the lights on the outside of the house in record time and was happily pleased with herself. She was now humming to Christmas tunes as they played while framing the doors of the great room with silver and gold tinsel and wreaths. She stepped down from her step ladder (A/N: No pun intended haha) and marveled at her work, Christmas was definitely in season at the Briefs household.

"Oh Bulma sweetie, the decorations are amazing!"

Bulma grinned to her mother, "I'm not done yet Mom!"

"You should take a lunch break sweetie, you haven't stopped working since breakfast."

Her stomach grumbled slightly at the mention of lunch, it was true, she was hungry. "Alright Mom, I'll make some food in a bit. I want to finish this room first."

Bulma pulled out the fake snowflakes from a box and hung them from the ceiling, the light catching the glitter causing the walls to come alight with sparkles. She smiled as she hung the last snowflake in the great room as she recalled the Halloween Party. Thinking of that night made her knit her brow together. She remembered Vegeta's words on that night and then the hurtful ones the week later. The damn man, no not man, _Saiyan_ was so damn confusing. Bulma figured she had his pride to thank for that along with his stupid mountain sized ego. She sighed, flicked a strand of stray aqua hair out of her eyes and headed towards the kitchen.

As she entered, she was hit with the strong smell of sweets beings baked. She knew her mother was baking sweets for the orphanage that her parents helped out during the Christmas season. It was an extremely wonderful deed that her parents did and she knew the orphanage was extremely grateful. After all, not only did her father make create little gadgets and gizmos so that the children could say Santa Clause came but he also donated a large sum of money to help keep the orphanage afloat.

"Smells good Mom." Bunny giggled but continued to bake without another word. Bulma made herself a sandwich and a small salad, trying her best to stay out of her mother's baking flurry.

After eating Bulma returned to working on putting up decorations. This allowed her to also think of what she would get for everyone, she figured she would get her mother a nice necklace and for her father she would probably double check and try to help him finish his blue prints without him noticing. _But what about Vegeta?_ She pondered this for sometime, would the stupid saiyan actually want something that didn't help his damned to hell training or would he totally disregard her feelings and blast whatever she gave him. Her face soured a bit, he would probably do the latter.

Bulma walked into her lab to decorate the room and her eyes betrayed her by drifting over to the computer that monitored the G.R. turned space ship. The readings showed the machine was going at full power, he was obviously training to his heart's content. _Stupid jerk, you're going to hurt yourself out there . . ._ A small smile appeared slightly on her lips, knowing Vegeta like she did she knew he wouldn't accept a silly material gift like her ditz of a mother would. She put the box of decorations that had still been in her hands down and headed over to her blue-print drawing table. Lately she hadn't used her lab much but today was different, even if Vegeta didn't want her gift, which she knew he would just love even if he wouldn't admit it, she could still begin drawing up her plans for it. After all, Christmas was only twenty-four days away. Perhaps she was being foolish, he probably wouldn't even be there for her favourite holiday anyway. He sure as hell hadn't been there last year for Halloween or Christmas so what made this year different. Even as these thoughts went through Bulma's mind she couldn't not stop her hand from racing across the paper with pencil in tow. She was surprised how easily the formulas came for her creation, and how quickly it was all coming together. _Being a genius does have its perks._ She smirked as she continued to write out the plans, it wasn't every day she decided to build something for the pompous asshole, especially when he wasn't bitching at her to do it. _Do I really miss him that much? He's only been gone a few weeks . . ._

Bulma later came to the conclusion the only reason she missed him so much more this time was because Yamcha wasn't around. Last time Vegeta had been in space for four months and frankly she had been down right giddy he was gone but now she missed him dearly. Her brow furrowed, what was it about Vegeta that drew her like a moth to the flame. She hadn't even missed Yamcha this much when he would go out into the wilderness for weeks to train. _I guess I always knew he would come back . . ._ Perhaps that was why she missed him so, she wasn't truly certain he was coming back. She let out a short sigh, she figured she might as well get Yamcha a card for Christmas. She would be the bigger man, or woman in this case and take the first step to try and mend their friendship at least. Sure she had lost him as a boyfriend, but that was bound to happen, but she didn't want to lose him as a friend.

She glanced up from her plans and was shocked to see the time, it was already after six. Three hours gone but at least she had finished a rough outline of her 'present' for the Saiyan Prince. _This is like some record or something, I've never finished anything this fast before. _Bulma double and triple checked everything, from the basic formulas to the hundreds of complex formulas scrawled out on the blue-print. Everything so far worked out in her head which made her smile, yes she truly was a genius. She figured she could easily build it and complete it by Christmas Eve and even if he wasn't back by then she could always just give it to him when he came back. _If he comes back . . ._ She chided herself a bit, she knew better than to get her hopes up when it concerned Vegeta but right now, she just couldn't help but get her hopes up.

The next week went by nicely for Bulma, rehearsal for the Nutcracker went smoothly, the promotional photo shoot went well, and she had already gone out and bought most of the Christmas presents for her friends and family before the big Christmas season shopping spree's started. The only thing she really had left to do was finish her 'present' for Vegeta and even then that was practically completed. This week however also signaled the opening day for the play, which although she would never admit it, made her nervous. Five years of not being on the stage in front of crowds did that to people, but she figured she didn't have too much to be nervous about. But Friday night was opening night, and it was already Wednesday. _Just tonight's practice and tomorrow's and then show time._

Even after the incident with Leon, not much had changed between the two. They both snapped and quarreled with each other while at the same time perfecting their pas de deux. Their clashings had actually made their dancing better simply because both were trying to outdo the other. This at least pleased Mike, after all he was the one who wanted to bring the play out of retirement once more to give it its long awaited happy ending.

"Okay everyone that will do it for tonight. Tomorrow we'll run it once more in costume just to make sure everything works out fine and then you can go home. Have a good night, be safe and don't do anything stupid."

Mostly everyone began chatting about Friday, even Bulma could feel their excitement radiating off them in waves. It wasn't that much of a surprise either, they were all being cast in the Nutcracker with her, the person who nearly died performing this same dance, so she could understand why they were all excited.

"Hey Bulma, can I talk to you?"

She turned to face Mike who had a slightly serious expression on his face, "What's up Mike?"

"I want you to know that if you want, we can close a section of the pit . . . though it will still be opened in places."

Bulma frowned, closing the pit wouldn't help her at all, it would make her feel handicapped if anything. "No, leave it open. I'll just have to be careful and not stupid."

"But Bul-"

"No buts Mike, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me so much. Plus we've been rehearsing without it open, if you close it you might mess some people up." She smiled at him once more before leaving and he smiled back, though she noted his was a bit forced.

It wasn't long before she was pulling up to her home though she had to focus hard on her driving to keep herself from falling asleep. She yawned as she unlocked the front door and stepped into her home, surprised to see her parents, or at least her mother, weren't up. Bulma knew it was somewhat late though she had thought it was that late. Perhaps, she figured, it was because her parents were starting to get older and thus they didn't have the stamina to stay up late. _Or maybe I'm just over analyzing this and they just decided to go to bed early._ She yawned once more, surprised at how tired she was after the rehearsal. Though Mike had drilled them all until the point of exhaustion and perhaps that was why they were only running the place once tomorrow.

"At least Mike isn't at all like Cherise . . . damned woman would drill us to death everyday till performance night and even after performing if she didn't like it . . ."

Bulma headed into the kitchen, grabbing a bowl and some fruit from the fridge. She was too lazy and tired to make herself a real dinner and after all fruit was nutritious. She picked out a few ripe strawberries, a couple slices of apple, pear, and mango and a nice small ripe blood plum. _A fruit salad, glad Mom always has a garden, fresh fruit is the best._ She walked out of the kitchen towards the couch, noticing her parents had finally bought a Christmas tree while she was out. A smile graced her lips, she had one more thing to decorate tomorrow before rehearsal and one more little Christmas item to buy after rehearsal.

She sat down on the couch with a sigh, but something felt strange on her butt. Her 'couch' was abnormally warm, no it was downright hot, and it was squishy but solid. Her 'couch' had also twitched when she sat down and she was pretty positive her father had not created and hot, squishy yet firm, twitching couch. _What the . . .?_ She glanced down only to see a pair of piercing onyx eyes glaring at her, she was sitting on someone's back.

"Woman . . . you had better get off NOW!"

* * *

A/N: SQUEEE LOOK WHO'S BACK!

Goten: What did Bulma buy for presents?  
Me: Just the normal you know.  
Goten: What about Uncle Vegeta's present? What is it?  
Me: Thats for me to know and you to find out eventually (brownie points for anyone who can guess what it is :D)  
Goten: Tell meeeeeeeeeeeeeee  
Me: No, you'll go blab about it to everyone you see  
Goten: /puppy dog eyes pwease!  
Me: No! Anyways, chapter 10 should be up soon, so gimme some reviews so I have the motivation to write :D


	10. Confessions of an Heiress

Whooo, finally the site lets me upload this chapter so I can post it for you guys :D Been trying to upload this one since the 28th of Jan and kept getting processing errors but now its working again! Anyway, here is the next chapter and I hope you all enjoy. I'm kinda iffy about it with Bulma, seems like she be having major mood swings in this one but...well Vegeta does that to her I suppose. Silly human emotions :p

I wanted to thank **mangaanime**, **Racy Nucleoli** (did I mention how much I love your reviews?), **Nesradana** (I already have the next chapter in the works so hopefully you won't have to wait too long for Chapter Eleven :D), **wolfwoodroxxie**, **Strefe** (hmm half brownie points, you're on the right track though :D), **alysia16**, and **Reignashii** for your absolutely wonderful reviews. I enjoy reading every single one of them :D Keep it up loves :)

Goten: /depressed  
Me: What's wrong with you?  
Goten: ...  
Me: Goten, what's wrong?  
Goten: Trunks ate my candy...  
Me: ...and?  
Goten: He didn't say sorry...  
Me: uhh huh...how about I'll buy you your favourite candy when I'm done writing?  
Goten: Really?  
Me: Really really, you being depressed is like sign of the apocalypse.  
Goten: Yay!

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Confessions of an Heiress**

Bulma had to refrain from screaming at the top of her lungs. She immediately jumped up and pivoted on her heel only to land on her butt facing the couch from the swift motion. "Ve-Vegeta! You're back?"

"Yes I'm back woman, but not because I want to be. Your inferior Earthling ship got damaged and so I had to come back to get it fixed. As soon as it is fixed however, I'm leaving. And the sooner, the better."

"Oh. . ." The disappointment was evident in her voice as she got up, picking up her spilled bowl of fruit off the floor. "Well, I can't get around to it till after the twenty-fifth of this month. I'm sure my father can probably help get it fixed, but even he doesn't have the time right now to do it quickly." Bulma saw him knit his brow in either frustration or anger, she couldn't really tell which as she walked back into the kitchen to wash off the pieces of fruit that had fallen to the floor. In actuality though, she wasn't all that hungry anymore. _Of course he didn't miss Earth, how could I have been so blind. He just wants to become a Super Saiyan, destroy the androids, kill Goku, and then probably blow up the planet. Or worse yet, summon Shenron, wish for immortality, and then blow up the planet._ Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes but she willed them not to, she did not want to cry over Vegeta, she had promised herself she wouldn't, and she would NOT look weak in front of him.

Vegeta followed the aqua-haired woman with his eyes, noting that she had gotten even more beautiful in the time he had been away. Her hair was longer, reaching well into her lower back, she looked leaner, and she was no longer bruised like she had been before. _No, I will not think about this woman in that way. I did not come back to see her, I came back to get that blasted ship fixed. _His mind argued that in all honesty, he did not need to return to space so quickly, after all he had accomplished what he had set out to do. Yes, he was now a Super Saiyan, a thing of legend. But how he achieved it bothered him somewhat. The planet he had been training on passed through an asteroid belt and it was raining meteors for days. That was actually why the ship was damaged, even though most of the meteors burned up in the atmosphere some still made it through. He had protected the ship, but after two days of doing that even he began to feel the affects of not eating and sleeping. After the third day, it seemed like the hell would never end, and that he was going to die out there. Yet the woman, this aqua-haired vixen, had appeared in his minds eye and at that moment he let everything go, ascending to the status of Super Saiyan. She had, in some significant or insignificant way, of which he was not sure, allowed him to transform, to break that damned barrier he alone was unable to do. Ever since his father told him the legend, he had always been trying to break the barrier. Vegeta scowled, she had done to him in five weeks of training what he could not do in his entire life of training alone. And yet . . . he didn't curse her for it, he wasn't grateful either, perhaps more merely content with her though he would not be caught dead saying that out loud.

Though his mind argued that he didn't need to return to space, his pride argued that he did. He wanted to keep secret his new achievement and surprise Kakarrot when he would transform right before his eyes. At last he would be able to take back his birth right from that insufferable clown and defeat him once and for all. But what would he do after, he did not know. He was a freed man now; he could do as he pleased. No more Frieza breathing down his neck, no more ruthless beatings from Zarbon and Dodoria, and definitely no more senseless planet purging. _No more senseless . . ._ Since when had purging planets become senseless for him?

Bulma watched Vegeta curiously from the kitchen door. Yes he was looking at her but he seemed to be lost within an inner conflict of sorts. She had to admit though, it was nice seeing him again, but he looked like he had just returned not more than an hour ago. And he was looking rather . . . well to put it bluntly, beat to hell. Her eyes scanned him quickly; she could see all types of cuts and bruises, big and small, old and new, covering his body. "You look like shit by the way."

Vegeta's mind snapped out of his thoughts and he glared at the aqua harpy standing in the doorway. "Well you don't look that great yourself woman."

"At least I don't look like I've gone through hell and back." Bulma smirked; she had definitely missed their verbal spars.

"Fighting off meteors and trying not to die comes rather close to going through hell and back as you so put it. Though I doubt you would know anything about that at all."

Her smirk instantly fell and was replaced with a look of concern. "Damn it Vegeta, why don't you take better care of yourself? You could have died out there!"

He eyed her warily, trying to discern if her words had any double meaning to them but was unsatisfied when he found one, only hearing her worry, concern, and anger. "I can take care of myself just fine. You have no need to concern yourself with my well being woman."

"You obviously don't take care of yourself nor care for your well being. What would you have done if you were badly injured of the ship got damaged to the point of where it couldn't fly? Tell me what would you have done then!"

"Neither of those things happened and neither of them would have happened. I had everything under control. And what do you care, it was rather obvious you hated me when I left!"

Bulma let out a frustrated sigh, "You. Are. Such. An. Idiotical. MONKEY! No one, and I mean NO ONE can control Mother Nature! And as for things I hate, I hate that I can't stop caring for you!" She clamped a hand quickly over her mouth as her eyes went wide with realization of what she had just confessed. She made a quick bolt for the nearest door, that of which lead outside, but in her haste she didn't care, she just needed to get away from him.

It was cold outside, she noticed that almost instantly, though it did not stop her. The cold ground nipped at her bare feet and the slight wind chill bit at her arms. _Perhaps only wearing a noodle strap shirt and capri sweats home wasn't such a good idea._ She had changed into her favourite red shirt and black sweats just before she left the WCPAC, since her plan was to come home, eat, and then head to bed. That had obviously not worked out well as she was now walking to Kami knows where, barefoot, outside her home. _Stupid, stupid, STUPID Bulma! I can't believe I said that out loud._ How could she have been so incredibly ignorant, she knew her emotions would have gotten the best of her and yet she still did not watch her mouth.

"It doesn't matter now, what's said has been said and he probably hates me even more now because of it. . ."

Vegeta had watched the woman bolt out of the kitchen with a look of bewilderment on his face. Her words continued to echo in his mind and he could not will them away. After all, he knew that that night, even though he had claimed it didn't mean anything for him actually did. And it was obvious that night had affected the woman more so than himself. But the idea of being cared for, even remotely, was extremely foreign to him. Yet he knew that she was honest about it, her reaction after all had shown that.

He followed her without thinking much of it until he heard her sniffling. He didn't know why but he silently cursed himself for making her cry. Vegeta peered around the corner of the building to find the woman sitting on the cold ground, he arms wrapped around her knees that were pulled up to her chest with her forehead resting atop them. He had not expected to see the spitfire vixen like this, there were few times she actually cried, actually he could only recall four times in the entire time he had stayed at Capsule Corporation when he had seen her cry. "Woman, you're going to freeze your going to literally freeze your ass off if you sit on the ground for much longer."

Bulma stopped sniffling and wiped her tears on her arm though she did not look up to face him. She was looking weak in front of him, crying over him after she just told herself she wouldn't. _I'm such a fool . . ._

"Woman I know you heard me."

"Yes Vegeta, I heard you." Her voice was barely audible and she still would not look at him.

He rolled his eyes, a very human reaction he had picked up from the woman. It was obvious she was sulking and it annoyed him, he would much rather have her screaming his ears off than be in this pitiful state. He grabbed her not so gently yet not entire rough either and tossed her over his shoulder before starting towards the house again.

"Vegeta! Put me down now!" Though to be honest she didn't really mind being carried by him. His body was extremely warm against her cold one.

"No, not that I care or anything but you getting sick is not something I intend to deal with."

Bulma sighed in defeat, there was really no way of getting out of his vice grip hold. Why he was acting like this she wasn't sure, she figured he would want nothing to do with her after what she had just said. _Maybe he . . . no don't be stupid._ She looked to the sky only to see a little white speck fall onto her nose. A smile began to tug on her lips; she knew exactly what that little white speck was.

"Vegeta!"

He cocked an eyebrow slightly at her radical change in behaviour though she couldn't see it. "What now. . ."

"Oh, it's snowing! Put me down!"

"It's wha-"

"Just put me down!"

Vegeta growled slightly, "Fine," and set the prattling woman down. "Now what is this snow?"

Bulma took a couple of steps away from him and cupped her hands in front of her which soon began to fill with little white, fluffy specks. "Look to the sky, you'll see it."

He snorted but tilted his head skywards to see the little strange white things float lazily down to the ground. He had seen rain before, but this thing called snow, frankly he had never heard of it before. "What is it?"

"You're telling me you've never seen snow before Vegeta?"

"Woman if I had I wouldn't bother asking you."

She giggled slightly, "Don't be so touchy, it was a simple question. Snow is frozen rain, which means it's pretty damn cold right now." The snow was coming down harder now; they would have at least a foot, maybe two by tomorrow morning if it kept falling at this rate. She glanced over at him, letting her mind wander slightly. _I wonder if maybe he just didn't catch what slipped out, or maybe he just doesn't care . . . he'll most likely say something about stupid human emotions anyway._ A shiver ran up her spin and she curses herself for not wearing warmer clothes. She would have loved to stay out and play in the snow but she knew he was right and she most definitely could not risk getting sick. She grabbed his hand and much to her surprise he neither withdrew his hand nor say anything about it, he just followed her.

"We should go inside before we get sick."

"You mean before _you _get sick."

Bulma smirked as they walked back into the house and closed the door before she realized she was still holding his hand. "_Right_, before _I_ get sick because we can't be having that now can we." She let go of his hand before heading to the fridge, the pantry, and then finally stopping at the stove. She glanced up at the clock; shockingly it was already after midnight.

Vegeta watched her warily, his hand still warm from her touch. It irritated him how such a simply act could set him ablaze and force him to use all of his concentration to keep himself from pouncing her. Even after five weeks, nothing had changed concerning his feelings for her, if anything, since his transformation, they had only gotten stronger. "Woman what are you doing now?"

"Bulma. And I'm making hot chocolate, would you like some?" She took his grunt as a yes and began heating up the milk she had retrieved from the fridge on the stove. She pulled down a couple of mugs to be filled with the soon-to-be warm milk and set them near the stove. "So tell me, what exactly did you do to my ship?"

"Why does it matter?"

Her mouth twitched with annoyance though he couldn't see it for her back was turned to him. "It matters because I need to know what exactly you have done to _my_ poor ship so I can make sure it is fixed correctly monkey brain."

Vegeta glared daggers at her back but his mind rationalized that she was correct. "The planet I was training on passed through an asteroid belt. It was raining meteors for days, but the majority of them burned up in the atmosphere. However on the last day they hailed down harder and the rocks were threatening to destroy this ship. It was on this day that the mother of all meteors appeared not only threatening the ship but the planet as well. I blasted the damned thing but chunks of it still managed to get past me and hit the ship."

She poured the hot milk into the cups and added in the hot chocolate mix as she listened to what happened, her lips pursed into a thin line. It did explain why he looked so beat to hell, and now his earlier comment about fighting off meteors did seem justified. _At least he didn't go into the meteor shower on purpose._ She set his mug down on the table in front of him and walked over to the sliding glass doors to look out to the snow, already a light blanket of white covered the ground. "Well, at least you did make it back in one piece."

"Hn."

Bulma smiled as she drank her hot chocolate, even after going through a near death experience he would never change. But something was different, he had an air of power around him, not that he didn't before, but this one was different. It was stronger than before, almost radiating off of him. And he didn't really seem all that angry about having to wait for the ship to be fixed, after all he hadn't blown up in her face and demand she fix it right away when she told him he would have to wait. "Hey Vegeta, may I ask you a question?"

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at her, that of which she caught in the reflection of the glass doors, "What do you want?" He was slightly interested to say the least in what she wanted to ask. The woman normally just questioned him relentlessly when she was in a curious mood, but now she was asking permission. Perhaps the aqua-haired vixen was finally learning her place.

"Did you . . . well when you were in space . . ." She chewed on the inside of her cheek a bit; she knew how sensitive the subject was with him. "You . . . ugh never mind, it's nothing."

"Woman I don't have the time to listen to your ramblings. Ask your damn question or don't say anything at all."

Bulma shrugged her shoulders and finished the last of her hot chocolate, perhaps she was just tired and imagining things. However something was nagging her in the back of her mind, telling her that her assumption was correct. "Well fine, I'm going to bed then." She stepped away from the door, setting her cup in the sink and headed for the stairwell. However she paused at the bottom before heading up, "Oh by the way Vegeta, welcome home. And congratulations on your achievement." She smirked proceeded up the stairs, it wouldn't take him long to figure out what she meant.

* * *

A/N: And there's the end of Chapter Ten :D I would like to think that after living with so many powerful people her entire life that Bulma would be able to feel their ki just not be able to pinpoint it and sense it from far distances like the guys. So I figure she would have to notice a change in Vegeta's ki right?

Goten: When are you going to buy my candy?  
Me: There's pocky in the pantry, go get some.  
Goten: Yay! [runs to the pantry]  
Me:...doesn't take much to make him happy. Anyway, R&R and remember, its a crime to read and not review ^_^


	11. Winter Traditions

A/N: Greetings everyone and happy near year :D It's now the year of the Dragon whooooooooooo. Anyway, I'm finally coming back with a new chapter for you all, I have finally resolved to finish this story slowly but surely and I do appreciate all those who will come to read this once again.

On a new note, I have gone through all of the old chapters, reread them and fixed a lot of miss types, adding in some details and all that fun stuff so I highly highly HIGHLY suggest you go back and reread from the beginning.

Goten: Yay you're back! But are you back for real this time?  
Me: Going to try to be, I have some more fanfictions in the works that aren't DBZ related so we'll see!

Goten: Neat ;D

Me: Anyway heres chapter 11! I hope it doesn't disappoint.

* * *

**Ch. 11: Winter Traditions**

Vegeta watched the woman ascend the stairs, a small look of confusion on his face. There was no possible way that the woman knew, there just couldn't be. Perhaps he was simply overanalyzing it, but what else would she congratulate him on? He knew the woman couldn't sense energy levels like he and the others could, however it seemed that just maybe she could feel them around her. It wouldn't surprise him after all if she could, considering how often she had been with that idiot group she called friends. He furrowed his brow, the damn woman was already getting back into his head.

He followed the woman up the stairs not too long after she had gone to bed. To say he was tired was an understatement, he was exhausted. The nightmares had come back while he was in space, more ruthless and graphic just like they had been before he met the woman. That was another thing that annoyed him about the woman, her presence alone seemed to ease the nightmares.

Vegeta opened the door to the room he had used before he went to space. He smirked as he stepped in, the room was just as he had left. He almost half expected the woman to change it, but surprisingly she did not. He stepped into the bathroom, stripping himself to the bare and turned on the shower to wash the grime and sweat off. It was relaxing, stepping into the spray of the warm water as it freed the dirt from his body.

The shower was quick, and as he got out he dried himself with his ki. The blue Saiyan spandex he always wore was in need of a good wash itself and he figured he would have the woman's mother do it in the morning. Vegeta opened some of the drawers in the dresser, the woman had put clothes in there for him even after he had demanding on more than one occasion he did not need Earthling clothes. He quickly grabbed a pair of grey sweat pants, pulling them on before he fell onto the bed; sleep had claimed him before his head had even hit the pillow.

Bulma's eyes fluttered open, had last night been a dream of was he really back? She slipped out of her warm bed, her feet lightly touching the carpet of her room and headed over to the window. She pulled the curtains back and looked outside, beautiful was the only word that came to mind as her eyes scanned the grounds of the Capsule Corp. grounds. A layer of pure white snow lightly blanketed the world outside her room, giving everything a glistening look.

She wrapped her arms around her body; even though her home was warm, standing beside the cold window sent a chill up her spine. It was either that, or the fact that tomorrow was the opening night of the production. Now that was a nerve wracking thought. Tomorrow she would truly face the demons of her past, in front of a full house too.

Bulma sighed, letting her mind settle on these thoughts was not helping either. She went to her bathroom, taking a quick shower to rid herself of the last remnants of sleep and dried her long cerulean hair. It surprised her how fast her hair had grown after she had to cut most of it off due to that ridiculous perm she had had. It was long, almost reaching her lower back and a vibrant aqua blue. She smirked at her naked reflection in the mirror of her bathroom, even without make-up she looked like a goddess. She giggled slightly, a goddess would make a fighting Halloween costume.

The thought of Halloween made Bulma's face flush, both out of anger and embarrassment. And the cause of both of those feelings was residing right down the hall from her room. He had said that that night did not matter but she wasn't stupid and she definitely was not oblivious like her dear mother, far from both. His reaction had proven much different from his words, which was a clear indication that it had meant something, but whether that something was good or bad she did not know. Bulma sighed as she put on some sweat pants and a hoodie, not bothering with a bra as her hoodie was rather large and a person would not notice the lack of one. She couldn't waste anymore time dwelling on her thoughts, if Vegeta was back she would have to get her food before he devoured it all.

She found herself downstairs and sitting across from the cause of her emotional turmoil faster than she had wished. She figured out while he was gone that this would happen when he came back. All the anger, love, and disappointment she felt came back in waves as she ate her breakfast silently. Luckily her parents chatted throughout the meal to each other, leaving Vegeta and herself to their own devices.

It didn't surprise Bulma when Vegeta was the first to leave. As always he ate like any other normal Saiyan, ravenous and ungrateful for the meal, not bothering to even utter a single word of thanks to her mother for cooking breakfast. Though with the ship in need of repair, she wondered where he could go to train. Granted if the gravity flux was still operational, he could use it, but if the machine was badly damaged it would not be able to take the strain of such a heavy training regime without buckling to the pressure.

"Bulma sweetie?"

Her mother's bubbly voice brought her out of her thoughts, "Yes mother?"

"Are you going to decorate the tree today?"

"Oh the tree! I can't believe I completely forgot!" Bulma finished her meal quickly, said her thanks for the food and headed into the living room where the large green fir tree waiting for its rebirth into a shining, glittering, and glorious Christmas tree. She put in an upbeat Christmas CD, turning the volume on low, just loud enough to be heard clearly but not blaring like how she usually listened to music. She took down a stack of boxes, all filled with ornaments and coloured lights. She opened them one by one, checking the contents they held. It did not take her long to have most of the ornaments and lights spread out across the entire floor of the room. She hummed along with the songs as they played as she untangled all the strands of Christmas lights, plugging them all in to make sure they were working correctly and none had burnt out or broken lights.

She began to string the lights around the tree and it did not take her much time at all to transform the simple green tree into a blinking red, pink, blue, yellow, green, orange, and white glow ball. She grinned at her work, happily pleased with the tree thus far.

"You humans must have lost your minds in the weeks I was gone from this mud ball planet."

Bulma stopped humming to her Christmas songs, letting her smile drop ever so slightly. "No, we humans have not lost our minds Vegeta. It just happens to be a certain time of year… similar to Halloween." She heard him scoff at her comment which made her turn around to face him. She would not have him degrade her favourite holiday. "Hey asshole, if you don't like it then leave." She saw Vegeta scowl and she could feel the tension thickening in the room escalating them towards conflict, yet nothing came from his lips which surprised her. She stared at him for another moment before turning back to the tree to begin putting on the ornaments. She could feel him watching her with those cold onyx eyes of his, and she couldn't help but feel ever so slightly annoyed.

"So what is this ridiculous holiday about?"

Bulma paused and smiled softly. "That depends on who is asking and to whom you are asking it to."

"Woman do NOT test my patience."

"This holiday is called Christmas and it's about family for the most part." She grabbed a new box, sifting through its contents. "Ouch." She pulled her hand from the box, displeased to find one of her fingers cut and bleeding slightly. Peering into the box, she found the culprit, a shattered glass ornament.

"You should be more careful woman, your carelessness will one day get you hurt far worse than a pitiful scratch."

Bulma ignored his comment and went into the kitchen, turning on the sink to wash her hand off. She sighed before turning off the water and grabbed a paper towel to dry her hand with. Luckily the cut was not deep and for the most part it had already stopped bleeding. She glanced out the kitchen and saw that it was snowing again. If it kept up at this rate, it was going to be tough getting to the theatre later this evening.

Vegeta peered at the woman who seemed lost in her own thoughts as she was looking through the window. It was strange to see her like this, more sharp tongued than normal one moment and then lost in her head the next. He knit his brow together, again he couldn't get her off his mind. He already knew he needed to get away from her but the only place he could truly be away from her was in space. He could always go train but that would run the risk of the idiot and his dimwit friends sensing his power.

"Woman, when will the ship be fixed?"

"I already told you. My father nor myself can get to it till after the twenty-fifth of this month at the earliest."

"How many days?"

"It's only the tenth, I'm sure you can figure it out."

Vegeta nearly popped blood vessel when he heard this. Fifteen days…fifteen days he was stuck in this place with the woman and her insufferable parents. And to make it worse, he had nothing to do! The ship was badly damaged and for him to train in it could possibly delay his departure off the mud ball planet if it got damaged anymore.

Bulma looked back at Vegeta and saw all the signs of a coming argument about to erupt. "Listen Vegeta, its Christmas time and while I absolutely _adore_ our verbal spars, I don't want to fight with you about it right now. I'll get to the ship as soon as I can, but you're going to have to try to have some patience and wait a while. Think of it as a small break and on the plus side for you, I'll hardly be around for the next fifteen days. That should please you at least, no?"

He furrowed his brow some more, he could easily hear how laced her voice was with sarcasm but that was not what annoyed him. She wasn't going to be around for fifteen days meaning he was stuck with that eccentric man she called father and the dumb bimbo she called mother. Granted he could always leave whenever he pleased but there was no where he could go to train. "Fine woman, but the ship had best be fixed as soon as these fifteen days are up."

"Oh for Kami's sake relax Vegeta! It's Christmas, the best holiday of the year. Take a break for a little while and rest. You sure as hell need it."

"Again you speak of this 'Christmas' but you have yet to tell me what it actually is."

Bulma sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "There is a lot of history that goes into this particular holiday and it depends on whether you view Christmas as the religious holiday it's supposed to be or the family holiday it has turned into." She walked back into the living room, pulling out the broken ornament before throwing it away. "From the religious point of view, Christmas is the day of birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God, and a figurehead for Christianity, Catholicism, Mormonism and others. It's a day that is used to celebrate this figurehead." She pulled out a red Santa Hat from the box and placed it neatly on top her head. "The family part of the holiday dates all the way back to the Roman times to when Saturnalia was celebrated instead of Christmas. That's where these floppy hats you see," she pointed to the red hat resting on her head, "started and also the tradition of gift giving, feasts, and decorating trees began."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her description of this particular holiday. "This entire 'holiday' as you call it sounds like some child's dreamt up story."

Bulma smirked as she continued to decorate the tree. "Well well it is more designed for children now as Halloween was. A few hundred years ago Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, or Santa Claus as he is more commonly known as began." She pulled the last remaining ornaments from the box, placing them delicately on the tree. "There all done." She closed off the box and grabbed the large star ornament that was resting on the table before an idea popped into her head. "Hey Vegeta, can I ask you to do something for me?"

"What do you want woman?"

Bulma shook her head, she was never going to get him to stop calling her that would she? "Can you put this on the very top of the tree? Normally the head of the household would do it but my dad is getting to old to be climbing ladders." She extended the ornament to him and to her surprise he took it, and carefully too, before hovering to the top of the tree.

"Here?"

"Yeah that's perfect." Her eyes followed his movements until he was back on the ground. "Thanks by the way."

"Hn. I suppose there is something 'special' about that star for this insane holiday."

She nodded, "Yes. The gold star is supposed to represent the North Star, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It's used to guide those home who have lost their way. Of course other people use angels or even Santa Claus himself, but the gold star is the most traditional."

Vegeta looked at the tree for a moment before walking out of the room. Whatever had possessed him to stay and listen to that woman's nonsense and then to help her needed to get out of his head before it drove him insane.

Bulma watched him leave and found herself pleasantly pleased. Perhaps she was rubbing off on him just a bit. But then again, maybe he had rubbed off on her too.

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A/N: And that ends Chapter 11! Read and review, its much appreciated and it really does help gives authors the motivation to continue writing :D

Tata for now and much love to all my readers! :3 And don't forget, its a crime to read and not review.


	12. Surprises and More Surprises

Allrighty here is chapter 12 :D It's a touch longer than the past couple of chapters have been which is nice.

Goten: Wow you got this one out quick.

Me: So I did, aren't I lucky.

Goten: bet other people are happy about it.

Me: I hope so :D Anyways enjoy! And also thank your Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss anonymous reviewer for catching the mess up w/ ch.6/ch.8. I feel pretty embarrassed about that. Must have been a mix up when I was reuploading the edited chapters so thanks a bunchies!

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**Chapter 12: Surprises and More Surprises**

Bulma glances out the window, then to the clock and then back outside again. She repeated the movements a few more times before beginning to pace ever so slightly in front of the window. She needed to get to the theatre in an hour, but already a foot and a half of snow had piled up from last night.

"Oh this is just wonderful…" She mumbled a few vulgarities under her breath, it wasn't that Bulma disliked snow; as a matter of fact she loved it. However she was not exactly the best driver when it came to driving in the snow. She walked over to the t.v., turning it on and flipping to the weather channel.

"_If you haven't already hunkered down, time to stock up and get ready to stay put in your homes for the next week or so. This snow storm is here to stay!"_

Bulma sighed, even thought the snow was here to stay; she would need to get to the theatre. Snow did not delay any type of show. "Maybe I should call for a cab…" She immediately crossed out that idea. The last time she was in a cab, needless to say it was not a good experience. "Well I do have an hour…maybe I should just leave now and drive carefully." Normally speaking, the drive to the theatre was a quick fifteen minute drive by Bulma standards, considering she drove very fast and fairly recklessly. But she wasn't stupid, when driving in weather she actually took her time.

"Woman, what are you doing?"

Bulma glanced over her shoulder to see a brow-knitted Saiyan warrior standing across the room from her.

Vegeta had been watching the woman for a while now, noting her irritation and useless muttering. He saw the woman shrug and listened as she gave him one of her half-assed answers.

"Oh nothing, just thinking that's all."

His brow twitched with annoyance, a rather human thing to do that he had found himself doing more often as of late. "I highly doubt that thinking would cause you to be such an annoyance woman."

Bulma cocked an eyebrow, his words were quite blunt but underneath them, she could almost hint at a bit of concern. But then again, maybe his words were just as blunt as he said them. "If you are that curious Vegeta, I'm thinking about how I am going to get to the theatre and back if this snow fall keeps up."

"Why does it matter? Didn't you just say it was frozen water?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "the snow makes the roads slick which isn't very stable to drive on. And then there's also the thread of the roads being covered in something called black ice." Bulma sigh slightly, "but regardless, I'm leaving now. A production doesn't cancel because of a spot of bad weather."

The drive to the theatre was probably one of the most nerve wracking things in her life. If there was any time she truly thought she was going to die, it would have been then. The roads had been really slick, and unfortunately she had no winter tires on her car yet. Then there were the people who were driving incredible fast, tailgating people and cutting other people off; she wouldn't be surprised if those people ended up in a ditch somewhere because they lost control of their car. It was a welcome relief when she pulled into the theatre's parking lot. The snow was still coming down, but it had eased up a little since the night before. Even though the weather forecaster had said the snow was going to be around for a week, she prayed it would stop, driving home tonight and to the theatre tomorrow afternoon in even more snow did not sit well with her.

Bulma looked at herself in the mirror. She was sitting in her personal dressing room, looking at herself as the Sugar Plum Fairy Queen. Her long aqua hair was pulled up into a lovely bun with a few strands of hair lightly floating down to her shoulder blades; these strands of hair were lightly curled at the ends. On top of her head rested a beautiful champagne coloured crown that was lightly dusted in pink sparkles, pinned tightly into her hair so that it did not move while she danced. She had diamond tear drop earrings and she wore a lovely necklace made of glittering rhinestones that was connected to large diamond pendant. The bodice of the tutu she wore was a champagne colour with pink lace sewn in. The pink lace made a 'V' pattern on the tutu, starting at the neckline of the bodice and ending right above the skirt. The bodice itself was that of a heart shaped design, dipping down slightly to reveal a bit of cleavage. It shimmered in the lights of her room as it was covered in a soft gold glitter with pink, lavender, and diamond rhinestones sewn into the pink lace. The costume itself was strapless, revealing her long neck and slender shoulders. Around her upper arms was a little pink and champagne lace puff.

The skirt of her tutu was slightly longer than that of a normal classical tutu which she did not mind. The same pink lace that embroidered the bodice was also present on the skirt, making soft 'V' patterns around the entire skirt. But rather than having a gold shimmer to it, the skirt had a pink shimmer as it was dusted lightly with pink glitter. Rhinestones were present at the hem of her skirt and also in the embroidery, sparkling in all their pink, lavender, and gold glory. She wore ballet pink tights and her pink point shoes had been cleaned thoroughly, making the satin material on the shoes have a soft sheen.

The eye shadow she donned was a soft mixture of gold, light pink, and lavender. Her high cheek bones were patted with a soft pink blush and her lips shimmered a soft champagne colour. Bulma looked glorious as she looked at her reflection, and tomorrow everyone would get to see her beauty on stage once again.

A light knock on her door brought the fairy queen out of her revere. "Come in."

Her door opened and in came Mike. Even though he was producing the play, he was also playing the part of Drosselmeyer. His blonde hair had been done up like that of an old fashioned powered wig. He wore the costume of Drosselmeyer, a white dress shirt with a gold vest and black neck tie. Over it he wore a flowing green jacket. His pants were a simple black that stopped at his knees, with red socks that tucked into the pants and polished black dress shoes.

"Wow B. You look fantastic!"

"Thanks Mike. You look really good too."

"I just wanted to let you know we're starting the second act in about ten minutes."

"Alright, I'll be out soon. Oh and Mike, thanks again."

"Whatever for Bulma? I should be thanking you."

"For giving me a second chance."

The rest of the evening went on without a hitch and everyone was very pleased and outright beaming. Even Bulma couldn't help but feel excited; her previous nervousness had all but died away. She watched as Mike stand in front of all of the company, smiling like the goof he was.

"Now everyone, I know you are all very excited and I have even better news for you. The WCPAC president was kind enough to allow all the cast members up to three free tickets for the opening show!"

Everyone gave out a cheer. It was a rare occurrence that they ever got free tickets and for the opening show too! Bulma could see how excited Mike was for sharing such great news.

"Now while it is a full house tomorrow, the President reserved the third, fourth, fifth and sixth row all the friends and family of our wonderful cast, so let's not disappoint him!"

Her eyes widened slightly in shock. The seats in those rows were some of the best seats in the entirety of the large theatre.

"Miss Bulma, you get to choose first."

"But Mike, that's hardly fair for the entire cast."

"Don't be silly Bulma. You deserve it, without you we would not be showing the Nutcracker this year."

She looked at a layout of the theatre, choosing row five, seats a, b, and c. She knew her father and mother loved the fifth row and she figured she could at least ask if Vegeta wanted to come. Though she knew that he wouldn't, still giving him the end seat would probably be best if by some grace of Kami he did come. _Oh wishful thinking is going to leave me disappointed. _

The drive home for Bulma was uneventful and she took her time getting back to the Capsule Corp. grounds which was unusual. But luckily for her practice ended very early and she would make it home in time for dinner. As she pulled up to the giant dome she called home, she took a quick glance to the space ship that Vegeta had used. It was beaten up all right; she could easily see where the large impacts were. _Stupid monkey brain…_ She parked her car quickly and practically ran into the house, pleasantly pleased with how warm it was inside.

"Oh Bulma dear! You're home so early."

"Yeah Mom, we finished really early today. Is dinner almost ready? I'm starved."

"Almost. And oh my..."

Bulma quirked an eyebrow. "Are you okay Mom? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"Oh it's nothing sweetie! I just forgot how cute you can be. That tiara is simply adorable!"

"Tiara…?" Bulma visibly sweat dropped. She had forgotten to take her crown off when she changed back into her regular clothes before leaving the theatre. She hadn't even bothered taking off her make up or taking her hair down for she was excited about leaving to tell her parents the good news. Then again, not like she could take her hair down if she wanted too, not with the massive amount of hairspray her hair and make-up crew had used.

"Anyway sweetie, dinner is ready. Go sit."

Bulma had half a mind to go bathe first but if dinner was ready, she might as well eat before it was all gone. She walked to the table, seeing her father and worst of all Vegeta already seated. She cocked an eyebrow, noticing the Saiyan Prince's lingering stare.

"See something you like Monkey Brain?"

"Hardly. You look ridiculous."

Her lip twitched with annoyance but nothing more was said. As the family plus one arrogant Saiyan ate dinner peacefully she made her happy announcement. "Hey Mom and Dad. I have some awesome news. The President of the WCPAC gave all of the cast members free tickets to tomorrow's show! And in some of the best seats too."

"Oh sweetie, that's wonderful!" We have to go tomorrow dear. I want to see my baby perform."

"Mother…I'm not a little kid anymore…"

"Well I am busy, but I will make time in my schedule for my daughter."

"Thanks Dad. I left the tickets on the counter. Oh and Vegeta, should you even be slightly interested, there is a ticket for you as well."

"Woman why the hell would I want to go to something as ridiculous as your inane play."

Bulma shrugged her shoulders. "They gave us the option of inviting three people. Besides, it's not like you have anything better to do."

"You are more idiotic than I previously thought woman. Those androids will be here in less than three years! And unlike you, I am not wasting my time to go to such a frivolous thing. I have to train!"

"No reason to get your panties in a bunch Vegeta. I was merely informing you. If you don't come, it's not a big deal. I wasn't even expecting you to come anyway."

"Bulma sweetie?"

"Yes Mom?"

"Didn't you say you were playing Clara? How come that is the Sugar Plum Fairy Queen's crown you are wearing?"

She glanced over to her mother, this was a rare sight. Her mother had actually noticed something rather than being the aloof bubbly woman she regularly was. "Originally Mike had called for me to play Clara yes. But-"

"Mike? Isn't he that really cute boy with the big blue eyes?"

"He's a man now but yes that's him. I switched the roles because he asked me to. The original fairy queen hated the guy playing the prince. I can't stand him either to be honest but other than Mike himself, he is the only one who knows the Prince's role inside and out like I know the Sugar Plum Fairy Queen's role."

"Oh I see. That's wonderful! You always looked so cute in the costume."

"Mother…"

The rest of the dinner passed uneventfully, Vegeta was the first to leave as always and Bulma helped her parents clear the table. The aqua swan yawned as she put the last of the dishes away before heading upstairs for a well needed shower.

Bulma glanced at herself in the mirror, an unconscious thing many dancers of her caliber did. The mirror was an important tool to a dancer and for the most part they looked at their reflection everyday for many hours a day. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she felt as though she were looking at her past self. The person reflected in the mirror, it was that same person who she had lost five years ago. A part of her that had disappeared completely, a being that she now felt as though she were finally reclaiming. _Tomorrow…is going to be a wonderful event._

Vegeta had been brooding in his room now for two hours, his ki ever so lightly erratic. He had lied to himself, lied to himself throughout the entire measly meal, and was continuing to lie to himself even now. He had said the harpy, that vixen, the succubus to his dark desires had looked ridiculous but who was he kidding? The woman looked like a damned queen when she had walked to the table to join them for dinner. He hadn't noticed it before but now he did. The woman had an air to her now, proud, noble…regal-like.

He shook his head, what the hell was the matter with him? He had told himself multiple times he had come back for one thing and that the woman was only there to fix the ship. Yet somehow, she kept getting to him. She was nothing but a human. A lowly, good for nothing human who he allowed to keep living because she was good at two things, making training equipment and repairing ships. Yet she was like a poison, seeping through his veins, corrupting his mind with her presence. But why? What made her so different from the others? She was one of the few people who did not fear him, did not cower before him like that fool Scarface or the half-pint Baldy. She had taunted him with her gestures the moment they had all been wished to planet Earth by the Namekian Dragon, Porunga.

"_What about you? Hey homeboy!"_

_Vegeta looked at this incredulous female. "Hn! What…home-what!"_

"_Hey loosen up! You're going to need a place to crash too."_

"_Bah."_

"_Hey why don't you drop the arrogant tough guy act and just relax. Let it all go! Take a vacation for goodness sake. You're actually kind of cute."_

"_What! I'm not kind of-Shut up!"_

And when her father's plane had arrived, he had gone willingly too. Not to mention he had stayed one hundred and thirty days on the premise for the Namekian Dragon Balls to restore…only to find out Kakarrot was still alive. Yet nothing happened between them then. So why after he had returned from space, had things changed? Was it when the buffoon had come back as well? Or was it after that future boy had told them about the androids? Deep down however, he knew he had the answer, but he would be damned if he dared admit it to himself. It was because that woman, Bulma, cared in her strange way. But she hadn't cared what he had done in the past, the millions he had killed including her once moronic boyfriend. She just cared about the now. She accepted him for him, and saw him for who he was, not who he had been, where as the others still feared him. She made sure he stayed healthy and somewhat rested, going so far as to on not more than one occasion lock him out of the ship or time his training and cut the power when she deemed he was going too far. She had been there when his own recklessness had caused the spaceship to explode with him inside it. Bulma, he wanted to hate the insignificant woman, but he was finding it hard the harbor that emotion for this human.

Vegeta snarled slightly, his lack of training was allowing his once rigorously disciplined mind to wander to places it should not wander. He had to find a way to get back to training and to get away from that woman before she drove him insane. He got off his bed and headed downstairs. Unfortunately, the last person he wanted to see right now was there, though she was now in what the woman called her 'pajamas' whatever that meant. Her hair was also down and she smelled of her shampoo, clearly she had just taken a shower.

"Hey Vegeta…Hmm I thought you went to bed?"

"Hn."

He watched her for a moment, her body softly illuminated by the glow of that ridiculous tree. She had turned to look outside again, the back of her right hand lightly resting against the right side of her jaw as she watched the snow lazily drift down to the ground.

"Why?"

Bulma turned her head again, looking quizzically at Vegeta. "Why what?"

"Why did you do what you did?"

"That's awfully undescriptive you know."

"You knowingly invited a mass murderer into your home. Why?"

Bulma frowned at him, why on Earth was he bringing this up? It was extremely unlike him; maybe he was ill or something. "We had this talk before Vegeta. You aren't that person anymore."

He was above her in a flash, his strong grip around her throat. "I have not changed. I am still me, all of me. I could kill you so easily rig-"

"But you won't."

His cold onyx eyes pierced into her defiant aqua orbs. Defiant, not fearful. Why was she not afraid of him! This woman was clearly an enigma. Yet…she was right…and that scared him. He could not bring himself to snap her slender neck. All it would take is a simple twitch of his fingers and she would cease to live. But he…could. Not. Do. It.

"Foolish woman."

And with that he was gone. Bulma let out the breath she had not realized she was holding in. "What the hell was that about Vegeta…" She frowned, perhaps all this time of not training was messing with his brain.

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A/N: And heres to the end of Chapter 12! The next chapter is all about the Nutcracker and its glory. Don't expect this chapter anytime soon as I'm going to take pretty much ever detail from the play (which is over an hour and a half) and turn it into story form :D

Goten: Sounds kinda hard

Me: Yeah but its going to be pretty awesome at the end

Goten: And I can keep you company!

Me: Oh goodie...anyways dont forget to review, its a crime to read and not review after all. Chapter 13 is going to be pretty long, so I hope thats exciting for you guys :D Tata for now and much love


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